Writing His Own Story
by Appleye2
Summary: Modern AU. Hiccup was perfectly content, living in his little home on the hill above Berk, with only his animal menagerie to keep him company. Till a blonde haired, blue eyed girl brought a spark to his life he didn't know was missing.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a purely hiccstrid story that I'm playing around with at the moment. Don't worry, I'm still working on Lost and Found, but I've been quite sick for the last few weeks and my brain is refusing to co-operate. Plus chapter 12 is kicking my butt. As soon as I can, I'll get the next update for you all. Thank you so much for your patience!**

 **In the meantime, you can check this out if you want. Just be warned, updates will be sporadic and random.**

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Frank held his ground. His ripped and bloodied shirt showed the bulging muscles underneath, tense and ready for whatever was coming his way next. He had no other weapon now, apart from his clenched fists. Three mercenaries surrounded him, their evil grins showing they thought he was done for. Frank waited, his lip lifted in a silent snarl.

He didn't have long to wait, the three abruptly lunging at him, ready to finish him off. But Frank had other ideas. Dodging the first, he delivered a smashing blow to the solar plexus of the second man causing him to stagger sideways and collapse, suddenly winded. Whipping around on his heel, Frank swung his leg, catching the third man solidly in the knee. The damage was immediate, as the man yelled in pain and crumpled to the ground. That left only one man standing.

The first man.

Frank's eyes narrowed as they slowly circled each other. His opponent was a big guy and wouldn't be as easy to dispatch. Frank cracked his neck and flexed his fingers. He hadn't come this far to stop now. This would just be another challenge to overcome on the way to his prize.

With a vicious yell, the mercenary charged him. Frank waited till his enemy was almost upon him, then dropped his shoulder. He used the other man's momentum to fling him backwards over his shoulder, towards the ground. If Frank thought that was the end of it, he was soon corrected. The other guy rolled and bounced back on his feet.

"Impressive," sneered Frank. "But not enough."

Swiftly picking up a heavy rock beside him, he spun with it as if he was a discus thrower, launching it towards the other man with deadly accuracy. The rock struck the mercenary across his forehead, jerking him backwards. It took a moment, but then Frank's last enemy slowly crossed his eyes and fell to the ground with a solid 'thump'.

"Timberrrr," murmured Frank, giving a mock salute to the dead man.

Feeling cocky at the outcome of the fight, he went to stride over the fallen men and keep moving forward. Till he noticed the shrubbery ahead of him had moved. Unnaturally so.

His trained eye found the shadow within the plants. The Stealth Gang.

They had found him.

Like a shot, he resumed a defensive position, but it was already too late. A gloved hand appeared out of the shrubbery with a short knife, flinging it precisely towards him. Frank almost didn't see it, but the glint of the blade alerted him to its presence, flying through the air towards him. Then…then….

Hmmm.

Frank crossed his arms and tapped his foot in annoyance. "And then what, Hiccup?" he asked impatiently.

The blade hung frozen in mid-air between them, its final destination still undecided.

Hiccup frowned. "I don't know…how about you dodge the knife and it hits an unseen enemy behind you…..Or maybe you're not fast enough and it sticks into your arm. What do you think?" he asked.

Frank threw his hands up in agitation. "How would I know? You're the famous author. I'm just a figment of your imagination," he complained.

"Well you're no help then," said Hiccup, sitting back from his computer.

"Hiccup? You in here?"

"Yeah Fishlegs. I'm in my study. Come on in. There's a knife being thrown at Frank right now, and I don't know if the Stealth Gang are going to injure him or the other guy behind him," Hiccup called back. He walked out of his study to find Fishlegs standing frozen in the middle of the kitchen, completely startled and searching frantically for the dangerous people Hiccup had so casually said were in the middle of a serious fight.

Hiccup chuckled at the sight. "I'm in the middle of writing for my latest book," he explained.

Fishlegs sighed and dropped his shoulders in relief, planting the large glassware dish he was holding on the kitchen table.

"You and your books. You had me worried I was about to be jumped by knife wielding ninjas," he complained. Indicating the container on the table, he told his friend, "Mum sent this up for your dinner tonight."

Hiccup's eyes bulged at the amount of food. "Tonight? That will last me all week!"

Fish shrugged. "She's worried you're wasting away up here all by yourself."

Hiccup smirked. "I'm not by myself. I have the dastardly duo and Toothless to keep me company."

Fishlegs sighed in a long suffering fashion. "Those crazy animals don't count. You need people too."

Hiccup grinned. "You're here. You're a people, aren't you?"

Fish gave him a dry look. "Hiccup, you know what I mean."

"I'm perfectly happy here on my little hill, Fish. Besides, with all these characters running around in my head, how can I be lonely?"

Fishlegs gave him an odd look. "You could get locked away as a lunatic for saying less than that," he warned.

Hiccup laughed. "Fishlegs, thank you, but I'm fine."

"You don't look fine. I can see the dark bags under your eyes. You look exhausted," says Fishlegs, peering thoughtfully at his friend. He headed for the kettle and turned it on.

Hiccup stretched out his arms and yawned, "Yeah…I woke up at four am," he said sleepily. "I had a burst of inspiration so I had to get up and write it down before I forgot it. Then I got carried away and kept writing."

Fishlegs frowned, then grumbled, "It's a surprise you're not still in your pyjama's then." He pulled down two cups from the cupboard, and set about making tea for the both of them.

Hiccup grinned guiltily. "I was…until I had to go feed my girls. It's a bit chilly outside in PJ's, so I had to get dressed."

Fishlegs noted Hiccup's usual attire of turtle neck sweater, beanie and corduroy pants. "Well, good thing for chickens then," he mocked.

Hiccup gave a lopsided grin, "Yeah. They've been laying really well this week. You'll have to take the extras home to your mum. I won't get through them all." He walked over to the counter where the eggs were stored in bowls. He pulled a container out of the cupboard and started putting eggs in it.

Fishlegs turned suspicious eyes on two Siamese cats laying curled around each other on the couch. "You mean to tell me the twins haven't been annoying the chickens lately?"

"Yeah," Hiccup chuckled, glancing over at the cats with exasperated fondness. "Ruff and Tuff had a little incident the other week, and they haven't been game enough to go back ever since."

"Yet…." said Fishlegs in a warning tone, knowing full well these two felines couldn't help themselves when it came to finding mischief. "So what happened? It's not often those two get their just desserts."

The kettle finished boiling, so he poured the hot water over the tea bags, letting it infuse for a moment before wringing them out and disposing in the bin. He brought the cups to the kitchen table as Hiccup picked up the sugar and a spoon, nodding thankfully to his friend when the steaming cup of tea was placed before him. He sat down and chuckled at the memory while he stirred in the sugar. "You know how I had to completely wrap the chicken coop in wire to keep them out…"

"Yeah," said Fishlegs, taking his own seat.

"Somehow, they managed to find a way in. But the girls didn't take too kindly to the intruders and chased them around the coop, pecking them all the while. When the twins couldn't find a way out, they panicked. By the time I found them, they were hanging from the top of the cage, crying their lungs out, with a bunch of angry chooks waiting on the ground for them.

Fishlegs laughed at the image, disturbing the two cats on the couch. They gave the men a disgruntled look, seeming to know they were being talked about.

Hiccup grinned, sipping his tea. "Needless to say, they haven't been game enough to go anywhere near the chooks ever since."

"Well I'd say lesson learned, but knowing those two I'm sure it won't last long."

Hiccup laughed. "I'd have to agree. I don't know how they do it, but they are constantly in trouble. I seem to be rescuing them at least once a day. Even Toothless can't keep up with them."

At the mention of his name, the black and white border collie lifted his head and raised his ears. Getting up, he walked over to Hiccup and placed his head on the man's lap. Hiccup gave him an absent-minded pat and Toothless slumped back on the floor at Hiccup's feet with a loud sigh.

"So, on the subject of troublesome cats…has the postman started delivering again?" Fishlegs asked, blowing the steam from his cup.

Hiccup pulled a face. "No…not yet. It took an awful lot of fast talking and a promise for an autographed book to stop him putting in a complaint to animal control. I doubt he'll ever be back after the last time the twins ambushed him. They frightened him so much he fell off his bike and dropped his deliveries in the mud."

"So how do you get your mail then?" asked Fishlegs.

"I have to go to town and ask for it at the Post Office," admitted Hiccup.

Fishlegs chuckled. "Well, at least it gets you out of this house and talking to real people."

Hiccup gave him a wry look. "I wouldn't know about that. I always seem to get old Miss Beacon. She's always got a sour look on her face as if she ate a few dozen lemons for breakfast. And the way she stares at me over her glasses. I feel like I'm back at school getting detention," he complained. Both men shuddered at the image.

Hiccup drained his cup and stood up, drawing the attention of Toothless and the cats.

"Well, I'd better get back to work. This book isn't going to finish itself," said Hiccup. He walked over to the counter to pick up the container of spare eggs while Fishlegs finished his cup, putting it in the sink with Hiccup's.

"Here's those eggs for your mum," said Hiccup, handing them over.

"Thanks, Hiccup. I know she'll appreciate them. Knowing her they'll come straight back here in the shape of a quiche or a cake or something," said Fishlegs, taking the eggs.

Hiccup grinned. "Your mum does know I can cook for myself, doesn't she? Well, I used to be able to…I haven't had much practice lately with all the food that gets dropped at my doorstep," he said with a twinkle in his eye, indicating to the food Fishlegs had delivered earlier.

"Yeah…but you know she loves to cook. Plus I did tell her last night that I was coming to see you this morning," said Fishlegs.

Hiccup was mildly surprised. "Oh? What about?" he asked curiously.

Fishlegs looked apologetic. "Uh…my boiler broke again."

Hiccup sighed, "I'll come and look at it for you, but I don't think that ancient monstrosity can be repaired anymore."

Fishlegs shook his head. "No, you're right. I've already ordered a new one. It's coming tomorrow."

"Then why the guilty look?"

"Uh…the boiler may have leaked through to the spare room and damaged it."

"Oh…sorry to hear that. Would you like my help to repair it?"

Fishlegs nodded, "I would, thank you. But I have another problem."

Hiccup raised his brows. "Another problem? Boy, you sure are having a bad week."

Fishlegs hesitantly told him, "It's just that my cousin is due to arrive soon. She was meant to stay with us for a few weeks."

Hiccup asked, "And…..?"

"I need to find somewhere else for her to stay," Fishlegs told him with a guilty look.

Comprehension washed over Hiccup. "And I suppose you want her to stay here?"

Fishlegs pleaded with him, "It's only for a few weeks. She won't be any trouble. Astrid's a lovely girl."

Hiccup's pursed his lips together as he thought about it for a few moments. No guest had stayed at this house for quite a few years, but Fishlegs knew that. He wouldn't have asked him to do it without a good reason. Plus he did owe the man a lot of favours.

"I guess it can't hurt. How old is she?" he asked.

"Er…nineteen."

"Nineteen! She's still a kid!"

"She's a very mature nineteen year old."

Hiccup groaned and thrust his hands through his hair. "You want to send a nineteen year old girl to live here with me? Why do I suddenly feel like a dirty old man?"

Fishlegs snorted. "Hiccup, you're only twenty-nine. That hardly qualifies as old."

"To you maybe, but to Miss Beacon and all the others in Berk who feel they need to be my moral compass…I'll never hear the end of it!" said Hiccup in exasperation.

Fishlegs waved his hand dismissively, "Hiccup, I think you're being overly dramatic about it. I talk to them all the time…they don't say anything like that to me."

Hiccup stared Fishlegs dead in the eye. "That's because your dad wasn't the last Mayor of Berk. They all expect me to be like him….Plus you still live with your mum."

"That was cold," complained Fishlegs.

"Sorry Fish. I didn't mean it like that," apologized Hiccup.

"That's okay. Anyway…will you let Astrid stay here?" Fishlegs asked hopefully.

Hiccup thought of all the possible consequences, then shrugged. Since when did he start living according to other people's expectations? He had always been different. Why stop now?

"Sure Fish. She can stay here," Hiccup relented.

"Great!" he said in excitement. His gaze then softened towards his friend. "I'm glad you decided to help. You'll see…this will be a good thing, learning to interact with real people again. Maybe you'll finally be able to move on from what happened."

Hiccup glanced at him sharply. "I'm fine, Fishlegs. I have everything I need right here. What else could I possibly want?" he asked, a hidden edge to his voice.

"A life, Hiccup. You need a life," said Fishlegs softly, not deterred at all by his friend's reluctance. "Anyway, I'm picking her up tomorrow afternoon. We'll pop in and see mum first, then I'll bring her straight up here. I'll see you then. Bye!" he added cheerfully, heading out the door now that his business had been conducted.

"Yeah, bye."

Hiccup stood brooding for a moment, then remembered something.

"I hope she likes cats!" he yelled out the door towards his disappearing broad friend. He turned towards the two Siamese sitting up on the couch, fully awake now and staring at him, their slightly slanted clear blue eyes giving them both a mischievous look.

He shook a warning finger at them, "You two had better behave while Fishleg's cousin is staying here…or I will end up with the record for the shortest visit by somebody else's house guest."

The cats merely blinked at him, one stretching its mouth open wide in a huge yawn.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, "Glad you find this all so stimulating."

Turning towards Toothless who had been sitting beside him, he said, "Come on Toothless. Frank is waiting for us to decide on his fate."

The man and his dog walked into the study. "So what do you think? Should the knife strike him or fly past him?" Hiccup asked the collie. Not surprisingly, he never got an answer.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for all your fantastic reviews! So many of them! XD So sorry I haven't answered back. I'll do better next time.**

 **As a quick answer for everybody…I'm glad you liked Author Hiccup with his quirky habits. Writers can sometimes get up to strange habits in the process of completing their stories! And Frank will be back.**

 **Why the ten year age gap between Astrid and Hiccup? Because it changed the dynamics of their relationship to create a different story. And why are the twins now cheeky felines? Because I couldn't find an obvious place for human twin siblings. But they had to be in there somewhere creating havoc. I will be keeping their personalities as canon as possible, but obviously they are all a little OC.**

 **This chapter is more of a filler. And twin centered. Anyway, time to move on.**

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Frank yanked on the cord holding his wrists together, but it was no use. They were tied too tightly behind his back. The blind fold over his eyes prevented him from seeing much, but he could still hear. He sat still on his chair, listening to their breathing. There were three of them. One to the side, and two in front.

"There's no hope for you now, Frank," came a harsh voice. "Why don't you tell us what we want to hear…and we'll let you go."

"Never," growled Frank.

The fresh wound on his arm had been crudely wrapped with a piece of fabric ripped from his own shirt, but it barely mattered under the promise of fresh tortures the Stealth Gang intended to put him through.

The man beside him moved closer, the distinct 'sch-ting' of a knife being unsheathed clearly heard. Frank stiffened, sure his troubles were about to start. His hands quietly groped the chair behind him, searching for anything that might give him a way out. He….

Umm…

Frank's shoulders drooped, and he hung his head to sigh. "Seriously? You're going to keep on doing this?" he asked in exasperation.

"I'm sorry, okay? I'm drawing a blank here. Just sit tight for a bit longer while I work this out," said Hiccup, pushing himself away from his desk. "And stop giving me cheek."

Hiccup shook his head in disbelief at his own actions. "I really need to stop talking to Frank...and myself while I'm about it," he decided, reaching down to rub Toothless behind the ears. It was already mid-afternoon and he had been working solidly since Fishlegs had left that morning.

"This is getting a little frustrating bud. I've only got the last few chapters to go and my book will be finished. But I just can't get it right. Something's missing."

He stretched back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head. Frowning, he tried to think about what changes he needed to make, but the answers just weren't coming to him.

"Time to clear my mind, I think," he decided.

Getting up, Hiccup walked through to the kitchen and grabbed his jacket from the hook beside the door. Toothless followed him.

"Stay, Toothless. I won't be long," he said, putting out a hand to stop the dog from going any further. Toothless sat on his haunches, his ears flicking backwards in disgust. Picking up a back pack, Hiccup slung it over his shoulders and collected his keys. Looking around, he searched for the cats, but couldn't find them. Which wasn't unusual. They often found tiny hidey-holes to disappear into.

Hiccup found his push bike in the garage, leaning up against the wall. It was an old bike, but he liked it. An ragged looking cane basket was strapped to the handlebars, and a beat up box for carrying stuff was tied to the back.

Wheeling it outside, Hiccup tugged his jacket a little closer and pulled his beanie further over his ears. It was quite cold today, and would likely get a little cooler before long. Although that didn't discourage him from freewheeling down his steep driveway, bouncing along the dirt and rocks till he arrived at the front gate.

He said front gate, but really he owned the land all the way down the hill to the road leading into Berk. Hiccup had left most of the property go wild, not needing to run cattle like his parents used to do years ago for extra money. The royalties from his books kept him fed and watered well enough. He wasn't rich, and he didn't want to be. But he did have enough to live comfortably.

It only took a few minutes to reach the bottom of the hill before Hiccup had to start peddling. He didn't care. He liked the exercise. It brought the blood pumping through his body and through his brain, removing those stale thoughts, and freshening his mind with extra vigour and zest. He liked to call it his 'zing ride'.

Fishlegs and his mum were one of the first homes that Hiccup would go past on his way into town, and he automatically waved over his shoulder towards the house…even though he couldn't see if anyone returned it. He liked to do it anyway…just in case.

Hiccup had only gone a little past the Ingerman's when the lid of the cane basket began to move. Hiccup noticed it straight away and quickly flipped the lid. Just as he suspected, two feline heads popped up and scanned their surroundings.

"Why am I not surprised you two would sneak a nap in my basket," said Hiccup, shaking his head. Stroking each of the small heads in turn, he grinned and continued peddling. The two Siamese cats had often travelled in his basket, and they liked it in there. To the point where they often napped in it. Normally, he would find them and turf them out before he came to town…they often created havoc when they arrived…but today it hadn't even crossed his mind to check.

"Must be a bit mustier than I realised," Hiccup decided. "You'll have to stay there till I'm ready to come back. I'm not going to be long…just need a few extra supplies for our guest," he told the twin pair of blinking blue eyes.

Berk wasn't far away, so it was only about ten minutes before he arrived. Hiccup rode straight for the small grocery store run by Mrs Jones. Pulling up outside, he leaned his bike against a pole, making sure it was stable before letting go.

"You two can stay right here," he told the cats, flipping the lid of the cane basket over their heads and pushing them down. He slipped the rope latch over the knob to keep it closed, and walked away.

A second after he had turned his back, a lithe paw poked out between the gap between the lid and the basket. Twitching sideways, it found the latch and after a few tries, deftly flicked it up. Two furry heads nudged the lid out of the way as they stood up, turning their faces in each direction.

Hiccup walked into the store to find Mrs Jones, a plump, beaming older lady behind the counter.

"Hiccup! How wonderful to see you again! How's it going with Frank?" she asked cheerfully.

Hiccup grinned. "Frank's a bit stuck at the moment. I'm not sure how he's going to escape from the Stealth gang," he told her.

She leaned forward eagerly. "Oh, do tell! I love it when you tell me snippets! Then I can annoy Grace on Bingo nights. She hates it when I give her spoilers."

Hiccup laughed, "Another time perhaps. I have to be quick today before the twins cause any trouble."

Mrs Jones smirked knowingly. "Snuck aboard again, did they?"

Hiccup screwed up his face. "Yes. I was too distracted to notice they were in the basket." He handed over his short list of items. Mrs Jones perched her glasses on her nose and scanned through it.

"This won't take long. There's a little more here than your usual order. Has Mrs Ingerman given you a chance to cook?" she asked him, efficiently locating the items from her shelves and piling them up on the counter as she spoke. Talking while she worked was one of her specialities. It was a well-practised routine born of the desire to gossip, and the need to keep the shop flowing smoothly.

Hiccup shook his head. "No, Fishlegs brought up a new casserole last night that will last me for days," he complained light-heartedly.

Mrs Jones laughed. "That woman is on a mission to fatten you up, Hiccup. She thinks you'll 'grow up' one day, and fill out like your father."

Hiccup's smile faltered for just a fraction. "Unfortunately for her, I take after my mum," he said.

Mrs Jones patted Hiccup on the arm. "And a beautiful woman she was…just like you," she teased.

He pretended to sulk.

Mrs Jones put the last of the items on the counter, and started to add them up on the till. "So, what's the extra food for, if you're already stocked?" she asked again, doggedly determined to find out.

Hiccup blushed, "Um…I'm getting a house guest tomorrow."

Mrs Jones immediately perked up. "Oh? A house guest? A real live person you have to talk to?"

Hiccup frowned and grumbled. "I do talk to real people….way too often in my view. Why does everyone treat me like some eccentric hermit?"

Mrs Jones laughed, and finished totalling his order. "That's because you are. Our own Berk celebrity perched high on the hill overlooking us all like some mysterious recluse. Everyone wants to talk about you. It's your own fault, you know."

Hiccup pulled out his wallet. "How is that my fault?" he grumpily wanted to know.

"Well, Berk's not that big of a town. There's only so much gossip to go around. If we saw you every day, than you would become old news fast, and we'd be looking for something else to talk about. But because we rarely see you, any news becomes instant juicy gossip…and the rest gets made up as we go along. By the way, last week when you come down with that old brown beanie of yours instead of your usual grey one, it was decided that you had ambushed some lonely soul on your hill, hid the body and took their beanie instead," she told an astonished Hiccup.

"Seriously?" he asked, pausing with his money in his hand. "I'm now a murdering madman because I wore my old beanie while this one was in the wash?" He was completely stumped on how he became gossip target Number One.

Mrs Jones glanced past him, towards the front of her shop. "What's serious is that Trouble times two has just walked past my door," she told him with a grin.

Hiccup groaned, "No, not again!" He hastily shoved the money into her hand, and threw his items into his backpack before making a beeline for the pavement outside.

"Good luck!" Mrs Jones called out loudly after him. "You'll need it!"

She laughed as Hiccup rushed out the door. He paused on the sidewalk, not seeing any cats. But he already knew where they had gone…the same place they always went. He hoped he wasn't too late, but that hope was quickly dashed when he spotted the culprits. They were in the doorway of Mr Allan's Menswear store, tugging on an item of clothing.

Hiccup had long since discovered, that the pair of slinky felines had a strange fetish for clothes, especially the ones in Mr Allan's Menswear store. And here they were again, caught in the act. He tried to make a grab for them, but they bolted and left him with an oversized pair of jeans in his hands…and an irate Mr Allan glaring at him through his thick spectacles.

"Mr Haddock! What do you have to say for yourself?" he demanded furiously, his thin face steaming red.

"Uh…I'm sorry, Mr Allan, truly. But my cats have an er…thing…for your trousers," he lamely told the man.

"How shameful of you, Mr Haddock! Your father was an upright pillar of this community. He would be turning in his grave if he could see you now, stealing menswear," fumed Mr Allan, shaking a finger at a bewildered Hiccup.

The younger man unfurled the obviously too large pair of pants and held them up against himself. "Mr Allan, believe me. It was my cats. Why would I take pants that don't even fit?" he asked. "They do it every time. Didn't you see them?"

"The only thing I see is a guilty man holding the evidence," Mr Allan huffed, snatching back his pants and storming inside the shop.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Seriously? How does he not see them?" he muttered, spying the culprits peering around the corner of the building at him. "You two," he said loudly, pointing a finger at them. "No fish for you tonight."

Mrs Jones emerged from her shop to chuckle at Hiccup. She bent down and placed a plate of tinned tuna on the ground. The two cats raced each other to get to it first.

Hiccup threw his hands in the air. "Mrs Jones…you're not supposed to reward them for being naughty," he told her.

"Oh hush. They're not naughty, are you my little dears," she cooed to the two purring cats feasting on tuna and then rubbing themselves against her. "Don't fuss over Mr Allan. He's just a wet blanket…and blind as a bat."

Hiccup sighed, "Mrs Jones…you know you're spoiling them." But he had to chuckle when the cats blinked up at him with a smug expression. "They've got you wrapped right around their furry little tails," he told her.

"And who says I'm not here voluntarily?" she asked, glancing up at him while she stroked Ruff…or maybe Tuff. It was a little hard to tell.

Hiccup had to laugh. "Yeah…you say that now. But wait until they steal _your_ trousers," he told her with a grin. A thought crossed his mind, and his smile dropped faster than a hot potato from burned fingers. "If they do…the whole town will probably accuse me of having an affair with you. Then I'll seriously be in trouble."

Mrs Jones laughed and stood up with her empty dish. She gave Hiccup a coy smile and waggled her brows. "I've always wanted to have a toy boy to play with," she told him in a mock suggestive tone. When Hiccup stared at the _married_ matronly lady in utter horror, she laughed herself silly. Hiccup gave her a disgruntled frown. Mrs Jones tried to control her laughing, and waved her hands to cool herself down.

"Oh Hiccup. You should have seen your face! It was precious!" she choked out over her laughter. "My Johnny is more than enough man for me," she told him. "But I couldn't resist." And she burst out laughing all over again, tears beginning to stream down her face.

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled. Gathering up his cats and his groceries, he headed back to his bike. Stuffing the twins in the cane basket, and placing his bag in the box, he swung his leg over the seat. He was still frowning and Mrs Jones was still laughing.

"Hiccup…please come back soon!" she begged between gasps. "You are so much fun," she told him, beginning to wheeze from laughing so hard.

Hiccup merely tipped his fingers to his head. "Glad to be of service for Berk's grapevine," he told her wryly. Deciding to leave now while he had some resemblance of dignity, he peddled off for home. But Mrs Jones laughter continued to ring in his ears for quite some time.


	3. Chapter 3

**Astrid's coming! And for the guest who asked about Berk's grapevine…It was unintentional, but if you want to use this as a shameless plug for that site, then go for it!**

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Late the next morning, Hiccup climbed out of bed without much enthusiasm. His lethargy was due to very little sleep, having tossed and turned all night instead, worrying over his expected house guest. He was getting a little nervous as he hadn't had someone stay over since…forever. And Astrid wasn't even his house guest. She was Fishleg's cousin. On top of all that, she was going to be staying for several weeks. Having another person….stranger…in the house was going to test his anxiety levels no end.

Hiccup was starting to think that maybe Fishlegs was right about him…he had forgotten how to interact with others. What do you talk about with someone you've only just met and who are now living in your house? Was he expected to keep her entertained with witty conversation? Or was silence okay too? What about his routine? Was he allowed to keep it? Or was he going to have to change everything for her? Hiccup had no idea. It had been many years since another person had shared this house with him, and he was seriously out of practise.

Hiccup caught sight of some framed photos on the wall dating back to happier times when the house had been full of laughter. The memories brought on a sense of melancholy and he gave a sad smile. Those times were gone, and could never be relived, except perhaps in his mind.

Walking over, he allowed his fingers to drift across the smiling faces of his parents. His father Stoick, had been a giant of a man with a flaming red beard so large Hiccup used to joke it could host its own ecosystem. His mother Valka, had been a tall and slender woman. She was the one that Hiccup took after in terms of his appearance. But his father's stubbornness had also found its way into his slim form.

Hiccup sighed, and his hand dropped down. Casting his eyes over the remaining photos, a tiny trickle slid down his cheek. Too many lost chances, too many dreams never realised.

He turned away.

Thoroughly distracted, Hiccup wandered automatically towards the kitchen to prepare breakfast. He'd earlier shoved his beanie over his messy auburn waves, but was still dressed in his striped flannelette pyjamas. Toothless followed him, his toenails clicking softly along the polished timber floor. Grabbing two slices of bread, Hiccup poked them in the toaster and pressed down on the lever. Turning to head towards the cupboard for a plate, his gaze swept past the clock. He gasped.

"Is that the time already? It's way past the girls breakfast time," he said, changing direction and heading for the back door instead, picking up an empty bowl along the way. Grabbing his jacket from the hook beside the back door, he shoved his arms through the sleeves and put it on over his pyjamas before heading outside to the chicken coop. Toothless followed close behind.

Hiccup had completely forgotten about his toast, but two furry creatures were quick to take up this opportunity to sneak in for one of their favourite pastimes…toast hunting.

Leaping lightly up onto the bench, Ruff and Tuff sat either side of the toaster, staring at it in eager anticipation. Neither cat blinked while they waited, half crouching in their excitement, the end of their tails twitching restlessly. Both animals were focussed on their goal, not minding how long it would take.

Suddenly, the toast popped up with a 'ching'. The cats leapt into the air in surprise before scrambling backwards over each other and landing on the floor of the kitchen. Their curiosity soon brought them back, their lithe little paws batting ferociously at the toast that dared to attack them.

Ruff managed to drag one piece out of the toaster, and Tuff snagged the second. The fight continued until two pieces of burnt bread were swept over the counter and onto the floor. The duo peered over the side of the counter to the ground below. Satisfied their work was done, they stalked across the counter for something else to entertain themselves with. An uncovered bowl of fresh eggs quickly caught their attention.

Playfully, Tuff swatted an egg till it dislodged out of the bowl and onto the bench. The egg didn't crack, instead it rolled enticingly in a circular pattern. Ruff swiped it with a paw, the egg spinning dangerously close to the edge of the counter. Then….

Splat!

The egg rolled over the side and onto the hard wooden floor. The two Siamese cats peered over the counter, staring at the mess they had created. Obviously deciding this was a great game to play, they went straight back to the egg bowl.

Tuff batted at another loose egg, persisting until it too rolled out of the bowl and onto the counter. Although this egg didn't roll. Instead it immediately cracked on impact with the bench top, creating a dull 'thud'. Raw egg began to seep out onto the counter, and the two cats sniffed hungrily at it. Eagerly pushing their noses against the broken shell, it wasn't long before the egg and its remaining contents went over the edge of the counter to the floor, leaving a sticky trail of raw egg white and yolk to drip from the benchtop all the way to the floor.

Hiccup opened the back door, Toothless coming inside first. The collie's attention was caught straight away, and he raced towards the naughty cats, barking madly.

"No, no, no, no," Hiccup shouted, shooing the troublemakers away. The cats scarpered out of the room, their tails held high in the air.

Hiccup's shoulders drooped as he surveyed the mess.

"There goes breakfast," he said forlornly. Turning to his dog, he said, "Toothless, you hungry?" But the question hadn't been needed, because the clean-up had already started with a few licks of the collie's broad tongue.

After wiping down the bench and the floor, Hiccup was able to restart breakfast. Sitting at the table with his toast and tea, he munched slowly, thinking over his story. The deadline from the publisher was looming up fast, but Hiccup was having trouble with the final chapters. It just wasn't pulling together the way he had originally planned and it worried him. Being under a time pressure hadn't inspired his creative juices either.

But every time he tried to focus on his story, he found himself thinking about Fishleg's nineteen year old cousin instead. He vaguely remembered seeing photos of Astrid as a young girl, although he couldn't recall anything except the blonde hair which ran in the Ingerman family tree. Other than that, he had no idea what she looked like.

Finishing off his cup of tea, Hiccup decided to push thoughts of his house guest aside. He'd find out later that afternoon anyway. No point wasting time guessing now. He needed to focus on his story, but seeing as that wasn't happening either there was only one other thing for him to do…go for a walk.

After changing out of his pyjama's, Hiccup returned to his back door. Picking up his backpack, he double checked he had the items he needed inside, then called Toothless and headed outside. The path they chose started on Hiccup's property and ended up at his favourite secluded little thinking spot about an hour away. To Hiccup, the trek was well worth the effort. He found the surrounding countryside inspiring as well as refreshing for both his mind and his body.

-oOo-

Nearly three hours later, Hiccup was back. Slumped forward on his desk, his head held up with one hand and the other hand aimlessly tapping a rhythm on the keyboard of his computer, Hiccup found himself anything but inspired. The dreaded writer's block had struck.

Sitting back with a frustrated sigh, Hiccup scratched his head and thought about his options. He could sit here and mope for a bit longer with no results, or he could get up and do something else.

Activity seemed much more inviting, so he got out of his chair and wandered out of the office. His eye was caught by the closed door on the spare room down the hall, and he realised with a gasp that he hadn't thought of where his guest would be sleeping when she arrived.

The spare room hadn't seen any action for quite some time, so some spring cleaning was definitely required. Grabbing the vacuum cleaner from the closet, Hiccup headed into the room. Opening the window, he coughed when he disturbed the dust that had covered the sill.

"Should have done this a little earlier I think," he muttered to himself, brushing his dusty hands together.

Plugging the vacuum into the power point, Hiccup started with the layer of silt over the dresser. When he turned his attention to the carpet, two Siamese cats sauntered into the room. They jumped up onto the bed and sat down, their baby blue eyes following him closely.

"Oh, you've come to tell me which spots I've missed, have you?" Hiccup chuckled.

The cats merely blinked at him.

Toothless came into the room and glared at the twins. He gave a short 'whuff' of distrust. The felines stared at him in disdain, before Ruff jumped down of the bed and rubbed herself right up underneath the collie's chin, making him splutter and step back a pace. Tuff joined his sister and did the same thing. Toothless backed up even further, trying to shake off the persistent twins.

Hiccup paused in his work to observe the antics. He chuckled.

"Don't give up bud, don't let them take you down," he encouraged the harassed pooch.

Toothless reared up on his back legs momentarily, before crashing down on the cats. They pulled themselves back out of his reach, then gently batted at him with a paw each. Toothless gave Ruff a big nudge with his nose, trying to flip the cheeky feline over but the Siamese's paws only slid a few inches on the rug.

Hiccup laughed. "Don't you know cats always land on their feet? You'll have to try harder, bud."

Toothless nudged Tuff next, and it seemed to work as the feline flopped over on his side to the ground. But it was quickly revealed as a ploy, when both front paws came out ready to bat the collie's sensitive nose.

Toothless, however, was quicker and pinned the cat down with a single paw, trapping the wriggling Siamese to the floor.

Ruff launched herself at the collie, a flurry of striking paws making the dog blink rapidly in response. He snapped at Ruff, attempting to make her think twice but the small cat was having none of it. She was out to extract revenge and rescue her brother. The distraction gave Tuff the opportunity to slip out from under the collie's paw, and he joined Ruff in throwing a barrage of high flying paw action into the face of Toothless. The collie was quickly becoming overwhelmed but he was not about to go down yet.

Snapping back, Toothless growled at the pair. They didn't give up, taking it in turns to dart in and smack the collie around his thick furry mane and across his defenceless snout. Toothless lips curled up in a menacing fashion, and his legs stiffened as he tried to bluff them by making himself appear larger.

Suddenly, he lurched forward, giving a loud 'snap' but chomping over nothing but fresh air. Hiccup watched his animals carefully in the background, but he knew no serious harm would come from this. They often had play fights, and Hiccup would usually entertain himself by attempting to guess who would relent first.

"Come on Toothless, you can do it!" he chortled, encouraging the pup with a fist in the air.

The cats reacted to the collie's charge, by arching their flexible spines and bouncing sideways. Toothless reversed, ready to strike again but before he got the chance, the feline duo charged him. Toothless yelped as he came under fire from both cats at the same time.

"Two on one! No fair!" said Hiccup loudly, the vacuum still in his hand while he watched the dancing felines ambush his dog.

The animals antics were beginning to give Hiccup some ideas, and his eyes sparkled while he thought about it. Meanwhile, Toothless was becoming fed up with the dual kitty assault team, so he backed up completely out of the room into the hallway. The cats pursued him.

Hiccup could clearly see who the winning side was today.

"Run, Toothless, run! Save yourself!" he laughed. Toothless turned tail and ran, the cats hot on his heels.

Hiccup shook his head, chuckling while he watched all the animals disappear out the door. Returning to the task at hand, he didn't take long to finish cleaning the room. After changing the sheets on the bed and cleaning out the cobwebs from the small walk in cupboard, Hiccup was satisfied the room was ready for the newest resident in the Haddock household.

-oOo-

A while later, Hiccup walked past the study only to double back when he saw all three animals snoozing together on the couch. He paused at the door, a lop sided grin on his face at the sight. Toothless raised his head to stare at his master and thumped his tail hopefully on the couch.

Hiccup chuckled, his mind still full of the mock fight the trio had engaged in not that long ago. It had almost been like the cats were ninja's, fighting off their mortal enemy. A light bulb flashed in Hiccup's brain, and he entered the room.

Toothless got off the couch, and stood up on his two back feet attempting to give Hiccup a doggy version of a hug. Hiccup grabbed the dog's front feet and danced with him.

"Oh, you wanna fight, do ya?" he teased. "I see how it is. You come over pretending to be Mr Nice when really you're Dr Evil."

He dropped the collie's feet and stepped back. Toothless was quick to respond to Hiccup's playful mood, jumping up with a 'whuff'. Hiccup sidestepped then gave a quick swipe to Toothless jowl, causing the collie to stumble. Toothless jumped again, landing feet first on Hiccup's abdomen.

"Oof! Oh, it's on now," declared Hiccup, diving towards the dog and pinning him to the floor. The two cats sat up behind them, watching the show from the couch with their blinking blue eyes.

Hiccup got up and stood with one foot behind him, twirling his hands in a ninja like fashion. "Come on kitties. Show me your ninja moves. Your hero is down and it's up to you to defend his honour."

Toothless scrambled to his feet, barking excitedly at Hiccup. The noise made the cats blink, and Ruff sat back on her haunches, her front paw raised high ready to bat at the collie if he dared to come too close. Toothless innocently took a step backwards, not realising his rear was unprotected.

"Watch out Toothless!" shouted Hiccup, seeing the paw poised to strike. "I'll save you! Come on, Ruff. Show me what you got!"

Hiccup took up a ninja pose again and swirled his hands around in front of the cats noses. He put on a fake accent.

"Ahh! The famous karate chop. You think I can't counter move that? What about your high kick, Miss Ruff-E-Nuff? I can whip your butt anytime," he chortled. Grinning, he stepped back but failed to notice Toothless to the side of him, until the collie stood up on his back legs.

Hiccup caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and whipped round to deflect him, but it was already too late. Toothless landed on him, and Hiccup lost his balance, falling to the floor with a 'crash'. The collie was all over him, his broad tongue relentlessly licking his master.

"Ahh…I'm hit! I'm down! Ohhh…." he trailed off, his arms flopping out wide on the floor. Toothless laid over Hiccup's chest, licking him across the face. "Yuck, you know that doesn't wash out!"

At the doorway to the study, Fishlegs cleared his throat.

"He's actually sane…or just a crazy writer. I still haven't figured out which one yet," he said loudly.

Hiccup's eyes opened wide, and tilting his head sideways he could see Fishlegs standing at the door with a young blonde woman standing beside him. She had her hand over her mouth, attempting to hide her giggles.

"Fishlegs! Um…yeah," said Hiccup as he pushed the dog off his chest, and struggled to get back on his feet. Fishlegs gave him a hand up.

Hiccup's face was beet red with mortification. "Er, sorry about that. Just finding a little inspiration for Frank," he mumbled in a hasty explanation.

"Frank?" asked Astrid in confusion.

Fishlegs rolled his eyes. "His book character," he told her.

The comment still made no sense to Astrid, but she figured she would find out later anyway. She smiled brightly. "It's fine. You looked like you were having fun," she said with an impish smirk.

Her gaze swept over the disheveled man before her. His turtle neck sweater was skewed, and he was hastily attempting to pull it straight over his corduroy pants. She could see curls of auburn peeking out from underneath his beanie.

"Um…how long were you standing there?" Hiccup asked, his coloured cheeks giving him a shy boy look which Astrid instantly found charming.

Fishlegs spoke up. "We knocked, but you obviously didn't hear us. So we walked in," he explained.

Hiccups gaze flicked towards Astrid. Now that he had finished straightening himself out, he was able to take a much better look at the girl who was going to share his home for the next few weeks. His breath caught in his throat.

She was quite a few inches shorter than he was, but the bold spark in her eyes told him she was probably quite adventurous and not at all reserved. Unlike him. But he couldn't help but be overawed by how very beautiful she was. His heart sank. Now he knew he was in trouble. He stared fractionally longer than would be considered polite, the knowing grin she cast his way causing him to jolt and stare bashfully at the floor.

"Um…yeah…Toothless and all," he said vaguely, gesturing behind him to the animals still in the room. He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, wishing the floor would open up and swallow him whole. He didn't even mind if it spat out his beanie.

Fishlegs cleared his throat again. "Um, Hiccup…meet Astrid. Astrid meet Hiccup. He's house trained and a good cook. Loves long walks in the moonlight and has crazy animals," he said slyly. "He's also prone to talking to himself. Go easy on him."

Hiccup shot his friend an indignant look, and Fishlegs grinned. "I'll leave you two to get acquainted," he said, turning to leave.

Astrid and Hiccup were left facing each other in awkward silence. Hiccup had no idea what he should do next, so he ended up saying the first thing that came to his mind.

"So, er…do you like cats?"

* * *

 **Do you know how difficult it is to describe an animal play fight? I now do.**


	4. Chapter 4

Hiccup groaned inwardly at himself. What a lame question he had just asked the beautiful young woman in front of him... _'Do you like cats?_ '

Astrid giggled. She tucked a loose tendril of blonde hair behind her ear, and Hiccup found himself following the action. He blinked and deliberately turned his gaze away from her to the cats still on the couch behind them.

"Umm...you know, in case you're allergic or something," he stuttered, pointing at them. "Er, you're not allergic are you?" he asked anxiously.

Astrid smiled broadly at him. ""No, I'm not allergic. I love cats. They're so adorable."

Ruff and Tuff jumped down to the floor and padded over to investigate the newcomer. Astrid knelt down to greet them, stroking their soft fur. The two cats purred in response, rubbing their cheeks up against her legs.

Hiccup chuckled, watching the Siamese work their 'innocent' act against her. "You say that now, but I need to warn you, these two are masters of mayhem. There's not a day goes by without some kind of havoc going on around here."

Tuff stepped up onto Astrid's lap and pushed his face against her arm, purring the whole time. "I find that very hard to believe," she said, patting Tuff.

"Don't worry... you'll soon believe it," he reassured her.

Hiccup found himself mesmerized, watching her interacting with the twins. His dazed trance was interrupted by Toothless, pushing his snout into Hiccup's hand.

"Oh, er… sorry. That's Ruff and Tuff by the way. And this is Toothless. It's his job to keep them in line."

Astrid stood up, gently evicting Tuff to the floor. She brushed off the cat fur from her jeans.

"Toothless? You called your dog Toothless?" she asked him, her eyes bright with mirth.

Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Umm, yeah. I got him when he was a puppy, right when he was losing his baby teeth. So he always seemed to be..."

"Toothless," she added with a smirk.

"You got it," Hiccup grinned.

She was looking at him, a smile dancing around the corner of her lips while she tried hard not to laugh. Hiccup found himself captivated, her bright and cheerful nature already evident in the few moments he'd known her. Hiccup felt positively dull beside the nineteen year old. He mentally chided himself for his reaction and cleared his throat nervously.

"So I guess you came with baggage," he asked. At the odd look she gave him, he realised what he had said and hastily tried to correct his error. "I mean luggage... clothes, shoes...that kind of stuff. Not baggage. I mean everyone has a little baggage, but hey! We're not perfect are we?" he tripped over his own words in his rush to say something intelligent. He gave an half-hearted laugh, then covered his face with his hands in total embarrassment.

"I'll shut up now in case my other foot leaps into my mouth," he mumbled.

Astrid couldn't help but giggle at the man in front of her.

"Is it possible to die from shame?" he asked, his voice muffled behind his hands still covering his face.

She laughed. "I don't know, but it sure is fun to watch," she teased.

Hiccup dropped his hands and gave her a wry grin. "Well, there will be plenty more where that came from, I can assure you. We may need to run a funeral before you leave." He ran his hand through the air as if he was reading a headline. "There goes the last of Hiccup's sanity. May we mourn it's loss."

Astrid laughed again. She'd only known this man for about ten minutes, yet she felt an easy attraction to him that she couldn't explain. Her gaze raked over his tall frame, mostly disguised under his bulky clothes and his woollen beanie, and she was intrigued.

She wondered what lay under his mild mannered façade, what secrets were hidden away that were yet to be revealed. Astrid smiled to herself. She decided that she wanted to know the answer. She wanted to know Hiccup. And when she set her mind to something, her determination always won out.

"I'll be sure to leave a tomb stone in memory of its demise," she told him with as much mock seriousness as she could muster.

"Thanks," he said dryly, dropping his hands. There was a momentary pause, and Hiccup felt the awkwardness return. "So, um... did you bring luggage or are you one of those women who live out of their purse?"

She shook her head with a grin. "No. Fishlegs left my bags in the kitchen when we arrived."

Hiccup immediately walked towards the kitchen, followed closely by Astrid and all the animals. She giggled as she turned her head to watch them all line up behind her.

"Does this happen all the time?" she asked Hiccup.

He turned to see what she was referring to, and rolled his eyes. "Yes. It seems to be their thing. I'm sure they like to snigger behind their little furry paws, plotting ways to entertain themselves at my expense," he told her dryly, picking up her suitcase. "Except Toothless of course. He actually likes me."

Astrid grinned. "If it makes you feel any better, I like you too," she told him.

Hiccup started at her statement, and almost dropped the bag he was holding. He stared at her briefly, before dropping his gaze to the animals, wanting to look anywhere except at her. He scratched his neck nervously.

"Er…thanks. That might be helpful I guess…Um, you seem pretty nice too," he added quickly.

Hiccup tried to gulp down his nerves. He left Astrid to pick up her small overnighter, and hurriedly strode to the door of her room, hoping to outrun his anxiety. Unfortunately for him, it followed in the form of a shapely young blonde girl. Hiccup felt quite out of his depth, and was wondering how he was going to survive the torture that was already going on in his mind. Having a house guest suddenly felt like a bad idea, and he wondered if Fishlegs would mind if he told him, he'd changed his mind.

Hiccup walked inside the spare room, promptly placing Astrid's bag on the single bed and turning. He didn't realise she was so close beside him, and he stumbled a little to avoid clumsily crashing into her.

"Sorry about that," he mumbled, while she grinned in amusement. He waited a moment till she placed her items on the bed too. "There's a small, walk in wardrobe for your clothes. Just watch the latch...it won't open from the inside. I promise all critters, skeletons and boogie monsters have already been cleared out. Although the occasional dust bunny may escape."

Astrid smirked as she gave a mock serious nod. "I'm sure I can handle them. If not, I may send for Toothless."

Hiccup gave a brief grin at her words. "Or the ninja kitties. They're pretty brave too," he told her.

Astrid chuckled, and Hiccup looked up, catching her glancing sideways at him. He found himself blushing, and not even sure why.

He cleared his throat. "Um…I can give you a quick tour of the house…so you know where stuff is," he finished lamely.

Astrid nodded, "Sounds like a plan."

He brushed past her to escape out the door, taking a discrete deep breath in. He badly wanted to run and hide, but thought that might be a little obvious. So he settled instead for a house tour.

Hiccup waved vaguely down the hallway. "The bathroom's down that way. I suggest you keep the door locked when you're in there, otherwise the twins will sneak in while you're trying to have a shower. They think they're clever because they can open the door. But they're not smart enough to close it. And an open door can take the chill factor a little too high some days," Hiccup warned her.

Astrid smirked, her increasing mirth over the eccentricities of her host and his pets making her glad Fishlegs boiler had burst. She was really looking forward to spending more time with Hiccup. She was sure, if nothing else, it would be entertaining.

"Warning noted," she said to him, giving a brief nod.

Hiccup continued, "Um…the laundry's that way too. Feel free to use it anytime. And you've seen my study and the rest of the house."

Astrid pointed to the closed door beside hers. "What's behind door number one?"

Hiccup rubbed his neck again. "Umm…that's my room. I promise I don't snore… although I can't vouch for Toothless."

The collie dog lifted his ears at the mention of his name. He gave Hiccup an impassive stare.

"Oh, don't give me that look. You know you snore," said Hiccup, defending himself.

Astrid only giggled quietly to herself at the sight of the tall slender man arguing with his dog. It seemed that what her cousin Fishlegs had told her wasn't an exaggeration after all…the man really did spend too much time on his own.

While he was distracted, she glanced around the home. It was an old wooden building, large enough to be comfortable but still cosy against the cold weather outside. She liked the country charm it held, with an eclectic mix of furniture that had obviously been loved for many years. It was simply laid out, just right for its single occupant. Astrid was impressed with how tidy the house was, considering a bachelor lived here. She glanced back at the man himself. The home was much like it's owner…quietly charming, unassuming, and with hidden secrets.

Hiccup looked up to find Astrid staring at him with a curious gleam in her eye. He cleared his throat. "Um, so that's it, then. There's not much more outside, except the chicken coop. Just so you know, the cats are not allowed in with the chickens, however much they beg."

Astrid blinked a couple of times, not quite sure how to process that. "Okay," she said slowly. "I'll make sure I remember that."

Hiccup pointed towards his study. "I need to get back to Frank, so unless you need something else?" he asked.

Astrid shook her head and gave him a warm smile. "No thank you. I'm good for now. I'll spend some time unpacking and settling in to my room. Can I help you with dinner?"

Hiccup put up his hands. "No, Mrs Ingerman already has that sorted. Fishlegs delivered one of her massive casserole's yesterday, so I hope you like leftovers."

Astrid gave an affectionate smile in response to her aunt's cooking habits. "I'm very familiar with my aunt's leftovers. So I'll enjoy helping you finish it off."

Hiccup grinned. "I can actually cook, but I don't get much chance to," he told her.

"I can imagine. So….er, I might go and unpack?"

Hiccup shuffled awkwardly. "Right…unpack…and I've got Frank to deal with….Dinner time it is then."

"It's a date," said Astrid cheekily, giving him a slight wink before heading back to her designated space.

Hiccup was left a little startled at her words, and stood staring at her retreating back before catching himself. Shaking his head, he strolled over to his study.

"Frank, I sure hope you know how to get me out of this one. Because I haven't got a clue."

-oOo-

Hiccup was already in the kitchen, serving up the reheated casserole by the time Astrid reappeared. She had spent some time unpacking and becoming accustomed to the space that would be hers for the next two weeks. She'd even put some of her toiletries in the bathroom on the shelf that Hiccup had cleared out for her.

While walking through the living room, Astrid had paused to have a closer look. At one end, closest to the study, was a huge bookcase full of books. It was absolutely stuffed, with paperbacks and hardcovers jammed into every possible space.

Astrid didn't really understand the fascination with reading. Sure, she'd read novels at school, when they'd had to write compositions on 'why this character did this', and 'what was the meaning of doing that', but it had never really grabbed her attention. She'd always preferred to be out on the sports field instead, pushing her body to its limits.

Astrid scanned across to the other side of the room, where there was something she could understand…a large television with a healthy DVD collection beside it. Flicking through some of the titles, she gave an impressed nod. There were many here that she had enjoyed before, plus some she hadn't seen yet. Astrid filed that information away for a cold night when there was nothing else to do.

Casting her eyes away from the movies, she found several photos on the wall closest to the kitchen. Most were of Hiccup and his parents, and she grinned at the physical difference between him and his father. Obviously slim Hiccup hadn't inherited the brawny features of his dad.

There were other people in the photos, but Astrid couldn't tell who they were. She decided she'd find out later on, when she got a chance to know Hiccup a little more. Fishlegs had already told her his parents had passed away a few years ago, and it was still a touchy subject for him. She knew better than to push something like that, just to appease her own curiosity.

Astrid left the room, and entered the kitchen.

"Mmm, this smells good. Aunt Freda is an excellent cook, as always," she told Hiccup cheerfully, inhaling the delightful aroma of a meal prepared with love and perfection.

Hiccup looked up from where he was placing cutlery on the table, the meal already served. He grinned.

"I'd love to take credit for it, but you already know the truth," he sighed in mock despair.

"Next time, then," she smiled, taking the seat he indicated to her.

Hiccup scraped his chair out and sat as well, after first filling Astrid's water glass.

Astrid tucked in to her casserole and gave a blissful sigh. "Delicious," she told him, her mouth full.

Hiccup nodded, his own mouth filled with well-cooked flavoured meat and vegetables. He swallowed. "I have to agree…Mrs Ingerman's food always hits the right spot."

They ate in silence, except for the clanging of metal cutlery, for a few minutes while they savored their meal. The only other noise was Toothless snuffling at Hiccup's lap, his doleful eyes staring at his master and silently begging for a mere scrap or morsel.

Hiccup turned to the collie and raised a brow. He pulled a piece of chunky meat from his plate and held it enticingly before the black nose. It disappeared quickly. Hiccup laughed. "That's enough for you. I'll give you some more later."

He flicked his hand and Toothless pulled his snout from Hiccup's thigh, padding over to the corner of the room. He laid down with a hefty snort, seemingly disgruntled at being dismissed.

Astrid laughed. "I see _everybody_ loves my aunt's food."

Hiccup nodded. "Yep. And isn't he put out if he doesn't get any. You've never seen a dog truly sulk before, until you've seen Toothless' act. He's a master at it."

Astrid laughed and waved her fork in the air. "I totally know how he feels. I once arrived late to my aunt's house when everybody else had already eaten all the food. I put on such a tantrum because I had to make do with a sandwich, that Aunty gave me the biggest slice of her famous apple pie. I was as happy as a pig in mud after that."

Hiccup chuckled. "Her apple pie is to die for, that's for certain. I remember one night a few weeks ago, I was having trouble with Frank so I decided to have a break. The only thing in the fridge was apple pie, but I was quite happy to savour it and forget everything else for a few minutes. It truly does soothe the troubled soul."

Astrid nodded in agreement, chewing on her casserole. She dug through her plate for another forkful.

"I've heard Frank mentioned a few times. Who is he?" she asked, taking a bite of the food.

Hiccup grinned. "Frank is the main character in my book."

"Your book? Are you an author?"

He grinned self-consciously. "I dabble in it," he shrugged.

"Are you any good?" she asked, her eyes narrowed as she digested this information along with what she already knew about him.

"It keeps me fed and watered," he told her, modestly.

"What type of books do you write?" she asked curiously, scraping together the last remnants of her meal and popping it into her mouth.

"Mostly adventure stories. Do you read?" he asked.

Astrid shook her head. "Not really. The only books I read are health manuals…things I can learn from."

Hiccup was appalled. "You can learn from novels too," he spluttered. "Have you never read a good book?" he asked, a little horror in his voice at the entire idea.

She shrugged nonchalantly. "At school we read a lot of Shakespeare. All those 'thou's' and 'thee's'. I never could get the sense of any of it."

Hiccup broke out of his shock, and stood up. He picked up both empty plates to carry towards the sink. "Well, with Shakespeare I can understand your reluctance, although 'Romeo and Juliet' is such a classic even today. Everybody quotes Shakespeare."

Astrid drained her glass of water and stood up to help him with the washing. She grabbed a tea towel, while Hiccup filled up the sink with hot, soapy water. "Maybe I should try one of your books, then," she teased. "See if you can persuade me that reading is enjoyable."

He grinned at her. "Challenge accepted."

He sloshed the first plate into the dish rack, and Astrid picked it up to dry. He asked, "What about you? What brings you to Berk? Apart from visiting your family, of course."

Astrid gave a light-hearted laugh. "I'm doing physiotherapy at university. I'm in my last year, and I wanted some experience before I finished. Fishlegs was kind enough to help set me up with a job at the Physio clinic here while I'm on break from uni."

Hiccup nodded. "That was good of him to do that. When do you start?"

"I'll be starting on Monday, but I've got an appointment for Friday to go in and introduce myself first," she told him, stacking up the dried plates neatly on the bench.

"Did you need a lift in?" Hiccup asked politely.

Astrid shook her head. "No. Fishlegs will pick me up tomorrow afternoon, and take me in. Then he's taking me to Auntie's place. I'm sure she will force feed me while I'm there. I'm going to have to be careful, or I'll end up the size of a whale!"

Hiccup laughed, emptying out the sink and rinsing the last of the bubbles down the drain. "I know what you mean. I'm glad I have my mother's constitution or I'd be in the same boat."

Astrid flashed him a bright smile, making him pause at the warm feeling building up in his chest. He'd surprised himself at how easy it had been to talk with her.

She told him, "I'm so glad the boiler broke and I ended up here. You've saved me from super sizedom," she quipped.

He laughed again. "I don't know about that. Mrs Ingerman's cooking knows no boundaries. Do I have to remind you what you ate tonight?"

She gave an impish grin. "Yes, but you only fed me one serving. Aunty likes to give me giant sized portions."

Hiccup chuckled, and leaned backwards against the sink, crossing his arms over his chest. "Maybe I should do that too…. It would save me having to eat it all."

She raised her brows. "Oh, I see how it is. Sacrifice the blonde woman." She flicked the tea towel towards him, and he jolted sideways to escape her reach. Grabbing the towel, he effortlessly pulled it from her grip and stretched it tight, threatening to flick her back with it. Astrid stepped out of his reach, keeping a chair between her and Hiccup's tea towel, her eyes glittering with mischief.

Hiccup false started a step towards her, making her jump backwards. "Why not? I hear that's the rage these days," he teased back.

"In what century?" she taunted, keeping one eye on the towel and staying just out of reach.

Hiccup relaxed back against the bench, hanging up the wet tea towel and crossing his arms again.

"Well, that's something you would have to read about in books," he told her, tongue in cheek.

"Ooo, burn," she retorted, licking her finger and striking it in the air.

Hiccup only laughed, and waved his hand towards the living room.

They wandered into the other room, where the two cats were lying on the couch. The twins immediately sat up and sniffed towards Astrid in interest. She obligingly went to sit beside them, and straight away they climbed all over her, rubbing themselves on any part of her they could reach with their whiskered cheeks, their tails held high. Astrid laughed in delight, stroking and patting the two soft little bodies. Toothless padded over, pushing his nose into her lap for some attention too.

Hiccup watched the scene in amusement. "Awp, watch out. Someone's jealous," he murmured.

Astrid gave the collie a rub between the ears, the Siamese cats rubbing against her face. "Pfff," she blew out the tails tickling her nose.

Hiccup had to laugh as he watched Astrid becoming submerged under the trio of animals. Tuff climbed up on her shoulder and began licking her hair. Ruff was rubbing herself under Astrid's chin, and even Toothless had one foot on her lap.

"Help?" said Astrid with a pleading look towards Hiccup, while she giggled.

"Toothless, down," commanded Hiccup towards the collie, who reluctantly complied with a sorrowful gaze.

He then picked up Tuff from off Astrid's shoulder, but first had to detangle the disorderly cat from her hair. Astrid's braid was left in a mess, and Hiccup apologized.

"Sorry about that. But I did warn you that Ruff and Tuff are a little…boisterous," he told her, planting the cat further down the couch, out of reach. Ruff left Astrid's lap to chase after her brother, the two cats colliding with enough force to send them rolling over the edge of the couch to the rug. Tuff retaliated by launching himself at his sister, tackling her down momentarily before Ruff wriggled out and raced off, Tuff close on her heels.

Toothless watched the twins playing, and settled to the floor, his jaw resting on his front paws. Watching the collie, you would have sworn he'd rolled his eyes at the cats antics.

Astrid and Hiccup laughed at them all, and Hiccup finally sat in the recliner. There was a moment of silence.

Astrid broke through first. "So…Ruff and Tuff, huh? Interesting names."

He grinned. "Yeah. When they were kittens, before they'd even had their eyes opened, they would be fighting each other. I had to pull them apart because they thought they were so rough and tough," he explained.

Astrid giggled. "Good choice."

The two cats under discussion, chose that moment to zip past, Tuff still trying to catch his sister.

"Very good choice."

Hiccup laughed, his gaze lighting on the animals as they careened out of control throughout the house. A dull 'thud' could be heard when Ruff managed to knock the other Siamese over.

"I can honestly say, that's it's never boring around here," said Hiccup, giving a lopsided grin to Astrid.

She curled up on the couch in a more comfortable position. "So…apart from watching the wild antics of the kitty club, what else do you like to do for fun around here?" she asked Hiccup.

"Read," he answered in a serious tone.

"Read? That's it? What about movies? Or dancing? Or hanging out with your friends?" she asked, askance that anyone would voluntarily just 'read'.

Hiccup smirked. "I hang out with my friends all the time…Hemingway, Jules Verne, Jane Austen…even Mark Twain. We travel all over the world and do lots of exciting stuff together," he told her.

She eyed him dubiously. "Are you serious?"

"Serious as my dad's red beard. How else would I be able to go back in history, and spend time with the nobility of the day in their fancy clothes and oh-so-very proper behavior? Or travel to the centre of the earth? Or to the deep south? There's so much I can do, and all it takes is a little imagination," he told her, with a knowing grin.

"Yeah, but what about actually doing stuff?" she asked again.

He shrugged. "I do 'stuff' too. I haven't actually been sitting around doing nothing, despite popular belief."

"Okay. Well, then…how about girls?"

Hiccup's smile dropped, but Astrid didn't seem to notice. He shook his head.

Astrid was surprised. "Really? Surely you must want to have someone special in your life?" she persisted.

Hiccup suddenly gave a wide fake yawn, startling Astrid. "I'm very sorry Astrid. I'm beat. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to retire." He stood up. "While you're here, you are more than welcome to the TV, or the DVD collection or the library, if anything in there appeals to you. I'll even lend you the car to take to town so you can...dance, or meet your friends or...whatever it is you wish to do," he told her generously. He smiled but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "If you could please turn out the lights before you go to bed?"

"Of course," she said softly, watching him.

He went to turn.

"Hiccup?" said Astrid carefully. "I'm sorry, if I said something wrong."

His shoulders drooped. "It's fine. Don't worry about it. I've had a very long day...that's all. Good night."

With that, he walked to his room, closing the door gently behind him. Astrid was left on the couch, wondering what it was that had just happened.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning, Astrid surfaced from her bedroom early. Peeking out through her door, she could see that Hiccup hadn't risen yet. Stepping quietly through the house, she pulled her sweater on over her head, and aimed for the outside door.

She paused, wondering if it was okay to leave the house unlocked while she went for her regular morning run. Biting her lip, she was unsure what to do, but smiled when she turned around. There, on the kitchen table with a note underneath it, was a key for the house. She picked it up.

' _Hi Astrid,_

 _I realised later on that you might need to step out of the house when I'm not available to open and close the door for you. So I've left you the spare key. Just remember to jiggle it a little bit as the lock sticks sometimes._

 _Hiccup.'_

 _Astrid grinned at his thoughtfulness. Searching for a pen, she wrote a smiley face on the bottom of the note, then left through the door and gently locked it behind her with the key._

-oOo-

Sometime later, Astrid arrived back at the kitchen door. She was sweating and panting lightly as she pulled out the key Hiccup had given her. Placing it in the lock, she realised the door was already open, so she pushed it open and headed inside. Walking through to the living room, she could see Hiccup in his study muttering to himself.

Astrid drew her brows together in confusion, and tilted her head sideways while she observed him moving his body and hands around in an erratic fashion. Whatever he was doing obviously consumed all his attention, because he failed to notice he had an audience. He stepped forward with his hands out, then hesitated before retracting his foot.

Astrid still couldn't put her finger on what he could possibly be doing. So she asked him.

"What are you doing?"

Hiccup gave a massive jolt, and spun around to face her with a startled expression. His gaze took in her reddened cheeks and disheveled hair, noting her slim fitting workout gear.

"Oh…I'm sorry! I didn't mean to alarm you," Astrid apologized, stepping closer.

He seemed to mentally shake himself. "No…that's alright. I was a little distracted," he told her.

"Were you learning to dance?" she asked, her curiosity levels far too high to not find out.

He gave an embarrassed chuckle. "If I was, that was the worst dance moves anybody has ever seen."

She had to agree. "Yup…won't argue with you there," she giggled.

He gave her a dry look. "Thanks so much for that."

She tipped her fingers to her forehead. "Anytime….So what were you doing?"

His cheeks coloured a little. "I'm actually writing my book."

"With your hands?" she asked, still confused.

Hiccup shook his head. "No….I find it easier to write if I sometimes act out Frank's moves first. It helps me visualize what he's doing. Only, my usual methods aren't working right now."

She snorted. "I can see why."

He rolled his eyes and gave a lop sided grin. "Yeah, not my most flattering moment. But my deadline is in six weeks and I need to have my manuscript finished by then."

Astrid moved over to lean against the door frame of the study. Hiccup couldn't help but feel the temperature in the room had risen a little.

"Six weeks? Isn't that enough?" she asked curiously, thinking it sounded like a long time to her.

Hiccup shook his head. "Six weeks can disappear pretty quickly. I've still got the last few chapters to finish, and I seem to have developed a case of 'writer's block'," he told her.

Astrid screwed up her nose. "Is that like a disease or something?" she asked.

He gave a quiet chuckle. "Can be. Especially if your publisher is breathing down your neck."

"So what do you do about it?"

He shrugged. "Go for a walk, or a swim to clear my head. Then come back and write."

Astrid brightened, and straightened up. "Oh, you mean like that little cove I found this morning?"

Hiccup stiffened. "You found the cove?" he asked tightly.

Astrid felt her stomach drop. She seemed to have inadvertently upset her host once more. She put her hand over her mouth in remorse.

"Oh, was I not supposed to go there?"

Hiccup forced himself to relax, and shook his head. "Er…no, it's alright. It's just that nobody but me has been down there since…well, for a long time."

Astrid's expression was apologetic. "I'm sorry. Should I go the other way?"

Hiccup glanced up at her, realizing that he may have given her the wrong idea. "No, no. It's okay. I was surprised, that's all," he told her, trying to placate her worries.

Astrid relaxed and gave him a thoughtful stare. "You don't get many visitors up here, do you?"

Hiccup glanced ruefully in her direction, knowing the truth of her words. "Er…no. I haven't had guests here for many years."

Astrid was surprised. "None at all? You really are a hermit," she bantered lightly.

Hiccup grinned in reluctant admission. "So I've heard. Although when you say hermit, I picture an old wiry man with scraggly hair and an unkempt beard. Hopefully I'm not up to that stage yet."

Astrid gave him a sly grin. She put one finger on her cheek in a teasing manner. "I wouldn't know. You don't have the beard but I haven't seen your hair. Who knows what your hiding under that beanie."

"It keeps my head warm," he muttered in embarrassment.

Astrid dared to ask. "Could you take it off? For just a moment. Please!" she begged.

Hiccup blushed and grumbled, but complied with her command anyway, pulling off his beanie to reveal a thick mop of auburn hair. He ran his hand through it self-consciously, and it was all Astrid could do not to let her jaw hit the floor.

"You are gorgeous!" she blurted out loudly, then caught herself at her words.

Hiccup blushed even deeper and shoved his beanie back on over his hair.

"I'm sorry, but you are," said Astrid, stammering a little. She took a closer look at the rest of him, covered under his bulky sweater and wondered what other treasures were yet to be revealed.

The gleam in Astrid's eye made Hiccup very nervous.

"Er...thank you? If you'll excuse me, I'll leave now before my face explodes," he told her, hastily pushing past her towards the outside door.

She heard the door open and slam shut and couldn't help but be surprised at her own bold thoughts. "I wonder what it would be like to kiss you, Hiccup Haddock."

-oOo-

Later that afternoon, Fishlegs came back to the house. He was intending to take Astrid to meet her employer first, and then back to his home so she could spend some time with his mum. Astrid was keen to start work, but was grateful she had a couple of days to first acquaint herself with Berk…and it's resident writer.

Hiccup opened the door to Fishleg's knock. "Fishlegs…how are you?"

"Good, good. How's everything here? All okay?" Fishlegs worriedly asked his lean friend. He had been concerned about how Hiccup would cope with this intrusion to his regular routine, knowing it had been a big ask for Hiccup to allow another person in. Fishlegs could only hope it hadn't been too much.

Astrid walked into the kitchen, neatly dressed in warm pants and a thick sweater. She slung her backpack over her shoulder. "Just peachy," she chirped cheerily in response to Fishleg's question.

Hiccup eyed her off a little warily, and Fishlegs saw it. He raised a worried brow at his friend.

Hiccup nodded. "All good," he confirmed slowly.

Fishlegs wasn't so sure, but he trusted his friend to let him know if there was a real problem. Before he followed Astrid out the door, he said to Hiccup, "Mum's got dinner planned for tonight. She wanted me to especially invite you along too. Then maybe you could bring Astrid back here afterwards?"

Hiccup hesitated, not sure he really wanted to be amongst company. But he knew if he refused the offer, Mrs Ingerman would be hurt, and he really didn't want to do that to her. She had done a lot for him over the years.

He nodded. "Sure. I'll be there."

Fishlegs gave a relieved smile, and Hiccup knew he had been right to accept. "Okay…see you then," Fishlegs said, waving to him and holding the door open for Astrid.

Once they had left, Hiccup gave a deep sigh, grateful for the reprieve. With Astrid and Fishlegs gone, the house straight away felt a little different. Although, he wasn't sure if that was good or bad anymore. The sensation was something unusual, but he decided to ignore all of that, and make the best of his time alone by working on his book.

-oOo-

Frank was hunched down behind cover, sweat beading his brow. He scanned the darkened room in a frenzied motion. He could almost feel them breathing down his neck. His nerves were strung so tight, an insect could crawl across his skin and he would probably jump ten foot. He inched out from the barrel he was hiding behind, searching for the next point of cover.

There was a pile of large boxes further down the wall, but he would be exposed while he ran to them. Frank hesitated. Normally, he wouldn't waver over such a choice. He would charge forth, guns blazing. But the torture he had recently undergone, before he managed to escape by the skin of his teeth, had deeply rattled him.

Whatever they had injected into him, had caused him to have flashbacks involving his family, his friends and …..her. After a while, he couldn't tell what was real, what was memories…and what was pure nightmare. It had brought forth emotions he thought he had dealt with a long time ago. Emotions that terrified him.

Frank's breath was ragged as he tried to dredge up the courage he needed. It was only a few feet. Nothing spectacular about that. Just multiple inches of nothing but space between him and the next safe zone. From there, he would be closer to complete freedom.

But the images came unbidden into his mind again, and he began to shake uncontrollably. He crossed his arms and grabbed himself, trying to still his motions. Escape almost seemed impossible. How was he going to get out of this? Could he recover long enough to complete his mission? Right now, Frank didn't know.

Hiccup's fingers paused over the keyboard. They were trembling. He clenched his fists, then released them, but it didn't stop.

Hitting the delete button to wipe out all he had just written, Hiccup sat back in his seat and ran a shaky hand through his hair.

Frank's torture was not his own…it was Hiccup's.

-oOo-

It was almost evening before Hiccup hesitantly knocked on the Ingerman's door. Fishlegs welcomed him in. Hiccup had been here plenty of times before, and usually enjoyed the company of the Ingerman's very much. But tonight, there was an extra family member…Astrid.

Hiccup had been apprehensive about how the night was going to play out. He felt uncomfortable with the attention she had already given him, and the gauntlet of emotions he had been forced to run through ever since she arrived. And when Astrid had told him he was gorgeous, Hiccup had nearly fainted from shock.

Old memories from times past had flooded his mind, and it was all he could do to push them down again. That era was dead and buried, and he didn't need to resurrect it. He had a new life now, one that he had been content in for quite some time. Till Astrid had come along, and accidentally tilted his world sideways with only a few words.

He didn't blame her, she hadn't known anything. But thinking about how he and Astrid would have to share a table with Fishlegs and his mum present, Hiccup had been worried that the entire meal would feel stiff and awkward. But to his surprise, it had been anything but. Astrid was very much at ease in her aunt's home, having been a part of the Ingerman's routine for all her life, and as the night progressed, Hiccup relaxed. Soon he found himself enjoying the evening with the small group, while the well-worn table overflowed with laughter, good food and fun.

Astrid treated him the same as she treated her family, and Hiccup soon noticed that she was witty and quite intelligent. He lowered his guard, allowing the mood of the night to wash over him in a comforting manner. Hiccup learned more about the nineteen year old, and the things she planned to achieve. He admired her sense of determination and the focus she had on her goals.

By the time the meal had progressed towards dessert, Hiccup had forgotten most of the misgivings he had arrived with. Instead, he unexpectedly found himself enjoying Astrid's company and the Ingerman's hospitality, even with the added helpings of food dished out by Mrs. Ingerman.

Before dessert was offered, Hiccup asked Fishlegs to show him the damaged guest room. Hiccup was feeling as stuffed as the proverbial turkey, and wanted an excuse to allow his dinner to settle before he was forced to stretch his bloated stomach even further to accommodate the caramel tart he knew was waiting for them all. Fishlegs seemed to agree, because he eagerly scraped his chair back from the table, and directed Hiccup towards the spare room.

Astrid watched them go, preferring to stay and chat happily with her aunt. She loved the jovial woman, and wanted to spend as much time with her as she could. It wasn't until she was shooed out of the kitchen, her aunt refusing to allow the teen to help with the cleanup, that Astrid began to search for the two men.

Astrid approached the damaged room quietly, where Hiccup and her cousin were hunched together discussing their latest project. She stood back for a moment to watch them. It was obvious the two men enjoyed a close friendship, in the way they spoke to each other. Hiccup leaned towards the table and deftly drew a few strokes on a diagram there. Astrid assumed it was the plans for the room.

Astrid could see the ease and familiarity Hiccup showed with the pen. She was sharply reminded that this man was a few years older than she was, and was obviously more experienced in many ways. The thought captivated her yet again, wondering what kind of a life he had led in the years that separated them.

Coming from a university setting, Astrid was used to being around men closer to her own age. She mostly found them to be more focused in having a 'good time', rather than their futures. Which sometimes annoyed her, because of the strongly set goals she held. She didn't want to be distracted from achieving her best.

So Hiccup's mature outlook fascinated her. Over dinner, he and Fishlegs had hinted about shared adventures and knowledge, stories that teased her curiosity, making her want to know more about him. She felt drawn to the man, compelled by the magnetic pull he unwittingly seemed to hold over her.

Astrid's appearance had made her an instant target for every grubby male who felt they even had a smidgeon of a chance with her. They would drop all sorts of cheesy pickup lines, hoping to win her favor. Yet Hiccup hadn't done any of that. In fact, if anything, it had been her dropping pickup lines on him. So far, she had flat out embarrassed herself and him with the words and thoughts that had fallen unchecked off her tongue.

She shuffled a little, and the noise caught the attention of Hiccup and Fishlegs. They turned to look at her.

"Hey, Astrid! Did mum kick you out of the kitchen?" asked Fishlegs, waving her in.

Astrid grinned, walking towards them. "You know it. I'm sure that woman would be on her last dying breath, and still demand that everybody leave the kitchen to her."

Hiccup chuckled, and Astrid flicked a brief glance towards him with a smirk. She peered towards the plans on the table. "What are you doing? I thought you were only repairing some damage?" she asked, noting there was considerably more than a plain bedroom on the paper.

Fishlegs shuffled, his cheeks coloring slightly while Hiccup gave him a pointed look and crossed his arms.

"Um, yeah. I decided to take the opportunity for some renovations," Fishlegs told her in such a way that made her stare curiously at him. The big man was nervously tugging on his collar and tiny beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. Her cousin was obviously lying to her. From the looks Hiccup was flashing at him, it seemed even his best friend hadn't been told the truth.

Astrid scanned over the documents. "There's a whole extra ensuite and walk-in robe there," she said in surprise.

While the upgrades were nice, it didn't explain why Fishlegs would be lying about it. She had to assume it wasn't for her, because he wouldn't be reacting this way if it was.

"Er…yeah. Thought I'd make the room more comfortable for our guests," Fishlegs stammered, only half convincingly.

Hiccup seemed to take pity on his friend. "It will take a bit longer to finish off, than a simple repair. You'll have to order the supplies on Monday so we can start as soon as possible."

Fishlegs appeared relieved at the intervention. "Yeah. I'll get straight onto it. Thanks for helping me work out what we'll need for the job."

Astrid spoke up. "Does this mean I'll be at Hiccup's for a while longer?" she asked.

Both men froze.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Astrid. I didn't even think about that," Fishlegs apologized. "Hiccup, will you be okay for Astrid to stay at your house while we build it?" he asked anxiously.

Hiccup swallowed. He wasn't really sure if it was okay, but he knew he couldn't say that to his friend. "Um, sure. No problems."

"Great!" Fishlegs beamed. "Crisis averted. Now, I think we'd better get back. Mum's caramel tart is calling me."


	6. Chapter 6

Astrid gave an involuntary yawn when she stepped out of her room. It had been late last night before she and Hiccup had arrived back, and all that extra food she had eaten had made her feel sluggish. In the end, she had slept through her alarm, deciding to put off her morning run till later in the day when she could enjoy it more.

Remembering the evening she had spent with her family and Hiccup, Astrid felt her cheeks warming up. It had been so nice to have fun with her aunt and cousin. But it had been Hiccup himself that had surprised her the most. After her blunder the previous morning, she had thought he was going to shut himself off from them all. He had certainly started off quite reserved. But it hadn't taken long for him to warm up, relaxing and joking.

Astrid felt she had been given the chance to scratch away a little more of the layers he had locked around himself, letting her in to see the man he really was. It had been a tantalising experience. What she had found out, was enough to tease her. And now she needed more.

When they had finally left together for Hiccup's house last night, the darkened cab of his rattling ute had made her feel like she was on a first date with him. She had been glad of the night, because her cheeks had been flaming at her thoughts. And when he had paused to open the door through to the kitchen, she had half expected him to turn and kiss her.

Of course he hadn't. He'd politely allowed her to enter first, and had said nothing more than 'good night' before herding his animals into his bedroom with him. She could hear him through the walls, speaking nonsense to his pets. After quietly changing into her pyjama's, she'd laid on the bed and just listened.

Astrid's smile had been wide, listening to him preparing to get himself into bed. At one point, she'd heard a heavy clunk but couldn't make out the source. She had tried to imagine what he would be doing. What he would look like under the heavy clothes he chose to wear.

The whole time she had been lying on the bed, her heart had been beating a little faster, and she had felt a warmth in her chest while she thought about him. When he had pulled off his beanie the day before, and revealed just how attractive he was, Astrid had thought her heart would stop altogether. His obvious maturity had proved to be appealing too.

The night at the Ingerman's home had shown him to be a kind and patient man, but still ready to enjoy a joke. Laughing with him had been a highlight of the evening, and something she felt she needed more of. When she had learned that she would have to spend longer at Hiccup's house because of Fishleg's extra improvements, she had been secretly pleased.

Last night while lying on her bed, and dreaming about Hiccup, Astrid had recognized that she was developing a huge crush on the shy man. Which of course, was going to be a problem unless she could keep it under control.

She sighed gently at the thought. Falling for somebody was not part of her plans. Of course, she intended to marry eventually, once she had made a success of her life. But a tall, auburn haired man ten years her senior had never even entered her mind as a possibility. Yet, here he was. And what was Astrid going to do about it?

For now…nothing. She'd literally known him for only two nights. That was hardly enough to decide he was the one for her. Even if every fibre of her being screamed it out loud.

Astrid shook her head. She needed to rein in her hormones, and just chill. She didn't want her knees to turn to jelly every time he gave her that cute lop-sided smile, or flashed those bright green eyes in her direction. Or when she thought about how his hair peaked out from under his beanie and curled around the edges in such a way that made her want to rip the woolen cover off and just run her hands through his thick locks.

Astrid smiled dreamily to herself, then stopped. She rolled her eyes, knowing she had it worse than she had realised. How was she going to control this? Demand that he stop looking so cute?

A noise from the kitchen froze Astrid to the spot. Hiccup was already up, and here she was, about to be caught swooning around her door frame like a love sick school girl. She hastily stood up, then peeked around the corner through the living room into the kitchen. She could see him moving around, shooing away the cats before placing his breakfast on the table and sitting down, the chair scraping on the wooden floorboards.

Astrid could feel herself practically melting at the sight of him. She scolded herself firmly. This was no way to act over a man. She forced her back ram-rod straight, and scowled in determination. Doggedly, she marched towards the kitchen, causing Hiccup to glance up in concern. He jumped slightly at her austere expression.

"Astrid? Something wrong?" he asked worriedly.

Astrid realised she probably appeared as if she was about to axe somebody, and hurriedly relaxed her features. "Uh…sorry. I was thinking about someone," she stuttered.

Hiccup raised his brows. "Well, it looked like they are in serious trouble I'd say. If looks could kill…." he joked lightly.

"Um…no. That's not it," she replied softly, finding herself mesmerized by the motion of his lips while he talked. She tore her gaze away, only to find herself in a worse position when she stared deeply into his deep green eyes instead. He blinked, and she realised what she was doing. Forcing her eyes off him, and to the table instead, she saw his breakfast and her brain finally kicked into gear.

"Er, are the shops open this morning? I need some supplies," she asked guiltily.

Hiccup smiled. "Yup. I can take you down if you like. I've got to collect some chicken feed for my girls anyway. But we'll have to head off shortly, 'cause the shops all close by midday."

Astrid nodded, "Okay. Just let me grab a cup of coffee and my purse and I'll be ready."

Hiccup raised his brows. "No breakfast?" he asked while she poured hot water into a cup.

Astrid puffed out her cheeks and rolled her eyes. "I'm sure I won't need to eat for a week after all that food Auntie fed me last night." She pulled out a chair and sat down opposite him with her coffee.

Hiccup chuckled. "Have to agree with you on that one. She was going to send the leftovers home with us, but I told her we haven't finished eating the last lot. I'm hoping she holds off a bit longer so I can actually cook this week. I'm getting a little rusty, it's been that long."

Astrid narrowed her eyes at him thoughtfully over the rim of her cup. "Food prepared by Hiccup. That's something I could look forward to. Are you any good?"

He shrugged. "I'm not up to Mrs Ingerman's standards, if that's what you're asking. But I can produce an edible meal."

She laughed. "Well, as long as you don't poison me, I'm up for it."

He turned his green eyes on her, and her breath hitched a little. "What about you? Do you cook?"

She gave him a disbelieving stare. "Are you kidding? I'm fresh from university. Gourmet dining over there is adding the seasoning packet to your hot noodles. The most cooking I do is burning toast…which I might add, I'm very good at. I can easily claim the record for the most fire department visits after setting off the smoke alarms far too many times than can be healthy."

Hiccup laughed loudly, and Astrid grinned at the sight. He had a magical laugh, and she couldn't get enough of it.

"That's right. I forgot what it's like to be a university student."

Astrid sipped her brew. "Oh? You went to uni?"

His smile stiffened, and Astrid wondered if she had made another blunder. But he relaxed and shook his head.

"I started a course, but only made it half way through before dropping out," he told her.

"Really? What did you do?" she asked curiously, lowering her cup.

He shrugged. "Doesn't matter now. That was a long time ago. I ended up writing books instead," he told her evasively.

"So you've never thought of going back and finishing?" she asked, wondering what his reasons were for ending his university course.

He shook his head, and stood up, taking his dirty plates with him to the sink. "Nah. I'm happy with what I'm doing. It keeps my head covered. I don't need anything more." He rinsed off the dishes, and stacked them on the side of the sink.

Astrid stood and carried her cup over. He took it from her and rinsed it before adding it to the pile. She gave him a sly sideways glance. "That's right. Being a hermit is your specialty," she said.

"Hey!" he protested, before grabbing the tea-towel and flicking it towards her. She jumped backwards, giggling uncontrollably.

He pretended to pout. "Keep that up, and you'll be walking to town," he threatened.

She teased him. "Oh, is the poor baby upset? I'm sorry."

He gave her a mock glare, a smirk lingering on his lips. "No you're not." He shook his finger at her, "You be careful. All that teasing will come back to bite you one day."

She stuck one hip out at him, and pointed to it with her finger. "Right here," she invited him.

He ignored her and deliberately changed the subject. "So are you ready to go? Or do you need another hour to fix your hair?"

She laughed, "Oooh, ready with the snappy come backs. Let me grab my purse, and I'll be there."

-oOo-

It wasn't too much longer before Hiccup dropped her off outside Mrs Jones store. He drove off towards the livestock supplies barn, intending to purchase his chicken feed before coming back to collect her.

Astrid walked into the store. She had to wait while Mrs Jones completed a sale with another customer already there. "Won't be a minute, love," the plump woman called out to Astrid.

Once the other customer left, Mrs Jones turned her attention to the young woman. "Hello. What can I help you with?" she asked politely, before staring. "Astrid? Is that you?" she asked excitedly.

Astrid grinned. "Yeah, it's me."

Mrs Jones bustled out from behind the counter, rushing over to envelope the girl in a generous warm-hearted hug.

"Oh my! Haven't you grown!" she said, holding Astrid out at arm's length. "Look at this gorgeous hair! And that figure! You are simply beautiful!" she gushed, indicating for Astrid to turn around so she could get a good look at the girl-turned-young woman.

Astrid blushed, but didn't resist as Mrs Jones inspected her closely. The older woman gave her a gentle nudge. "You must be beating them off with a stick, heh?" she teased.

Astrid gave an embarrassed chuckle. "Not really. I've been studying hard. I don't have time for boys."

Mrs Jones raised her brows high. "No time for boys? Are you telling me, an attractive girl like you doesn't have her eye on anyone?"

Astrid blushed even harder, staring at the floor. She shuffled awkwardly, and shook her head. "No."

Mrs Jones laughed. "Ah! I see! You're keeping it close to the chest, huh?" she said knowingly. She tapped the side of her nose. "Don't worry…you're secret's safe with me," she told her with a conspiratorial wink.

Astrid was quite flustered, opening and closing her mouth as she wondered how to reply to that. Thankfully, the woman decided to give her a break, and bustled back behind her counter. "So what can I get for you, today?" she asked.

Astrid was relieved and told the older woman what she was looking for. Mrs Jones quickly put the items on the counter, talking all the while. "Freda told me you were coming to town, but she didn't tell me how attractive you've become. How old are you now?"

"Nineteen, almost twenty," Astrid answered quickly.

"Almost twenty! Ah, to be young again," she sighed, pausing for a moment, before busily adding up the items. "Fishlegs told me he got you a part-time job with the physio clinic. Maybe I should make an appointment, and see how good you are at putting my old bones back in place. I've had a real niggle in my left shoulder that gives me a bite every now and then," she complained, rolling her shoulder as she talked non-stop.

Astrid gave an amused nod. "Yeah, I can take a look at it for you. I'll be under supervision till the boss is happy with me, though."

"Boss? You mean Joe? He's a sweet man. I'm sure he'll see your potential and let you loose on your own clients before long. Just watch out for his hands, if he ever offers to 'release the tension' in your shoulders. Seems to think he's a regular Romeo with a harem of willing women all waiting for him," chuckled Mrs Jones, barely pausing to take a breath.

"Er…okay?" said Astrid, startled about that information. She'd already met Joe the day before, and thought he was quite professional. She guessed even professionals had a night life, and vowed to be careful around him.

Astrid was handing over her money, when Hiccup walked in the store. Mrs Jones saw him first and beamed brightly.

"Hiccup! You'll never guess who I found. Astrid Hofferson. You must remember her…she's Fishleg's cousin. Look how grown up and how beautiful she is now," said Mrs Jones enthusiastically, pointing towards the highly embarrassed young woman.

Astrid sent Hiccup a pleading glance, begging for help. Hiccup smirked.

"Hi Astrid. Did you get what you needed?" he asked, while Mrs Jones drew breath.

The older woman gaped between the two, realizing she had missed something. "Have you two already met? Of course you have. You and Fishlegs are practically in each other's back pockets," she decided without waiting for any confirmation.

To Hiccup's chagrin, Mrs Jones then went on to say, "I'll have to come up and visit Freda. I'll see you then, and we can catch up. Will that be okay?" she asked Astrid.

Astrid shot Hiccup another uncertain glance, not sure what to say. So it was left to Hiccup. "Uh, Mrs Jones….Astrid is staying with me for a couple of weeks while we fix the Ingerman's guest room. His boiler burst the other day, and damaged it."

Mrs Jones positively gleamed with this news, and Hiccup's heart sank. He had a great deal of respect for the older woman, but he knew she was a terrible gossip. And information like this would be considered gold. The young fair maiden living unsupervised with the confirmed bachelor high on the hill where nobody could see what was happening. It was the kind of story that was ripe for spreading, becoming more and more sordid with each retelling.

Mrs Jones opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Hiccup firmly took hold of Astrid's shoulders and steered her towards the exit. "Bye Mrs Jones. It was lovely to see you again, but now Astrid and I need to head home…to our separate rooms…where we will be quite civil and decent towards each other as would be expected between two _friends_."

He emphasized the last word 'friends', knowing full well that the rumor mill would have him and Astrid in some kind of illicit affair before the week was over.

They were in the ute, driving back up the hill before Astrid was able to find her tongue again. "Well…Mrs Jones sure is something," she said with a chuckle.

Hiccup rolled his eyes and groaned. "I'm not going to be able to set foot outside the house now. Practically all of Berk will think I'm living in sin with a young girl half my age before the week is up."

Astrid snorted. "I'm not half your age, and I'm your guest…not your concubine," she said derisively.

Hiccup was aghast. "NO, I didn't mean that! It's just that Berk's grapevine is alive and well, and for some reason they love to talk about me. I don't invite it, I assure you. I'm sorry about all that, I certainly didn't mean to suggest that you would be my lover. Oh no, that didn't sound right."

He blushed profusely as soon as he said it, and clamped up, not wanting to make things even worse.

Astrid had to giggle. He appeared so mortified at the suggestion that he had inadvertently spilled out, that she had to laugh. He gave off such a shy-boy appeal when he was embarrassed, and she couldn't help but love it.

They pulled up outside the house, and Hiccup gave a not so subtle heavy sigh of relief when he got out of the vehicle. He opened the door into the kitchen, and led the way inside.

Astrid trailed behind Hiccup, staring at his back thoughtfully. She couldn't help but think about the words he had accidentally spoken, suggesting the idea that the two of them could be lovers.

The idea certainly held an appeal.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for the delay. Too much going on right now, but I am still slowing working away at all my stories. Updates will be slow as a result. Sorry!**

* * *

Hiccup disappeared into his study, while Astrid put her purchases away on the shelf in the pantry that he had cleared for her. She had bought her favourite breakfast and snack foods, feeling a little guilty that she was living off her host's hospitality.

When she headed for her bedroom to put the rest of her supplies away, her stomach begun to grumble.

"Oops…dinner has worn off, by the sounds of that," she said to herself, rubbing her belly.

Astrid still hadn't been for her run, but didn't want to fill her stomach first before she went. She preferred to exercise first, then ingest. Astrid finished putting her items in her drawers, talking to the Siamese cats that had followed her in, and were now sitting on the bed watching her.

"So Ruff and Tuff…know any good places to hang out around here? You know the ones…great sea views, fantastic for a slow afternoon?" she asked them while she worked.

Sitting down on the bed, Astrid stroked their soft fur while they relished the opportunity to cuddle up against her. She whispered in a soft tone to them, "Can you tell me any secrets about your boss? I mean, he looks like a great guy but why's he living up here all alone? Has he got a hairy wart on his big toe he doesn't want anybody to know about? Does he have a secret girlfriend? Does he have a hidden wife?"

The cats purred loudly and soaked up the attention she was lavishing on them. However, they weren't really interested in answering Astrid's questions. They were more concerned about the gentle hand stroking them in just the right spots.

"What do you think? Him and me? Is it even possible? You know, I think I really like him. Isn't that crazy? I've only known him for what….two days?" She sighed dreamily, thinking of the man hiding in the other room. "But he's just so cute, what's a girl to do?" she wondered.

That was a question she really wanted to know. What was a girl to do? She chided herself for allowing her thoughts to rush ahead into places she knew it was not possible to go. But she found she couldn't help it…she really wanted to know more about the reclusive author who wrote adventure novels.

Astrid was a determined girl. When she set her mind on something, she would always achieve her goals. Right now her goal was Hiccup…she was going to find a way to unravel some of the tightly wrapped layers the man held around himself, in any way possible.

Astrid nodded to herself, glad to have made a decision. Standing up, she gently placed the cats back on the bed. Right now though, she needed exercise.

Astrid didn't take long to undress and swap her clothing for her running gear. Throwing a light sweater on over the top, she walked towards the office.

"Hey Hiccup. I'm going to head out for a run," she told him.

Hiccup looked up from his computer, a little hesitant to catch her eye after his earlier comments. He nodded, but before she could leave, her stomach chose that moment to give a particularly loud growl.

He stared at her in astonishment, not expecting such a noise to come from such a slender person.

Astrid giggled. "Sorry about that. I guess I ran out fuel."

"Would you like some lunch?" he asked politely.

She shook her head. "Nah. I need to go for a run first." Her stomach gave another rumble, and she rubbed it with a rueful expression. "Preferably a quick one," she decided.

He gave a small smile before his eyes lit up. "I've an idea. Why don't I show you the way to the top of Raven's Point. It's only about twenty minutes away and the view is great up there. You can see the ocean on one side and Berk on the other. It will be quick enough for you to have a run and I'll have some lunch waiting for you when you come back."

Astrid's grin was wide as she thought about his suggestion. "Sounds fabulous. But how about you come with me and we can take a picnic lunch?"

Hiccup hesitated before answering, but Astrid could see that he was attracted to the idea. Maybe he needed a little nudge.

"Come on...you know you want to. What's the point of going to a beautiful spot like that if I have to turn around and come straight back? You can take me on a tour...show me the sights...and have lunch too. I can be great company." She tried to entice him with her most beguiling smile.

Hiccup paused...then nodded. "Okay, sounds like a plan. I'll grab a picnic lunch and we can go...Er, but I might suggest you wear something a little warmer. It can get pretty chilly up there with the winds blowing."

"Good thinking. I'm all over it."

She left to get changed again, excited at the prospect of spending some quality time with Hiccup. The young man rose from his chair and very quickly had a backpack out and stuffed a picnic rug in. Taking the bag with him, he entered the kitchen to check the contents of his fridge. It was fully stocked due to his earlier shopping efforts and Mrs Ingerman's cooking. Pulling out some cold egg pie, he sliced off a few wedges and placed them in a container, along with some vegetable sticks and some fruit. He then made sure he had enough napkins and cups while the kettle boiled, ready to fill the flask for a hot cup of tea.

By the time Astrid reappeared, Hiccup was ready.

"Oh! Are you finished already? I wanted to help you," she said with a small pout.

Hiccup grinned, the idea of an afternoon on the hills gaining more enthusiastic momentum the longer he thought about it. He picked up a teaspoon and spun it in his fingers like a baton. "It doesn't take me long to get moving, once I've made up my mind," he told her.

"That and lunch was already waiting in the fridge," she replied drily.

"Thank you Mrs Ingerman," he answered, waving the way forward.

-oOo-

True to Hiccup's word, twenty minutes later they were standing at the crest of a hill. From their vantage point, they could see for ages in almost every direction. Astrid stared out to sea, mesmerized by the scenic beauty all around her. Toothless had come with them and was now taking the opportunity to completely sniff out the surrounding countryside.

Astrid's cheeks were pink from the fresh breeze, and her eyes sparkled. She was breathless as she turned towards Hiccup, saying, "This is magnificent! Look at this view...it must be possible to see for miles!"

Hiccup sat down on the picnic rug he had just finished laying out. Leaning back on his elbows he smiled, letting the cool breeze wash past his face. "It's one of my favourite spots," he told her.

Astrid sat beside him, dragging the backpack closer. "I can see why. Thank you so much for bringing me here," she told him sincerely.

Hiccup glanced toward her. She was close enough that he could see the bright blue of her eyes, and for a moment he was caught in her gaze. He turned aside, staring back out towards the ocean. "You're welcome," he said quietly.

Astrid handed him a slice of cold pie and a cup of hot tea.

"Thanks."

The two sat and enjoyed the scene while they munched on their food. The breeze was blowing quite briskly, the waves crashing on the rocks far below. Toothless was still ambling amongst the bushes, continually searching for anything new and exciting. Apparently there was plenty to find.

"So, Fishlegs mentioned you actually owned most of the hill you live on. Do you own this spot too?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup gave a lop-sided grin. "That would be nice if I did, but unfortunately I don't," he told her. "This is public land and very well visited. In springtime it's almost standing room only up here."

Astrid nodded, taking a sip from her drink. "I can understand that. Do you come here often?"

He gave a wistful smile, gazing out to sea. "Not as often as I would prefer...despite it being so close to home. I usually go for a walk to the cove, although this place holds so many wonderful memories for me."

Astrid swallowed a mouthful of pie. "Did you grow up here?" she asked curiously. She took another bite while she waited for him to answer.

Hiccup nodded. "Yup. Born and raised in Berk."

"So you've never been anywhere else then?" Astrid asked, her brow creasing slightly in confusion.

He turned to her with a lop sided smirk. "Now, I didn't say that, did I? Just because I still live in the town of my birth, doesn't mean I haven't been to other places. I've done my fair share of travelling too."

Astrid blushed at her assumptions. "I'm sorry. I just thought if people travelled, then they would end up living somewhere else."

He leaned slightly towards her. "Or they could realise there is nowhere quite like home," he told her, sagely.

She thought about this, then nodded. "I guess that's true too. So...is there nowhere quite like Berk?" she wanted to know, taking a bite of pie.

He shrugged. "There are certainly warmer places...and more beautiful tropical zones...but none of them held the same appeal as Berk."

"Why not?" she wanted to know.

He turned to face the ocean, closing his eyes for a moment. He gave a smile that seemed both contemplative and sad. Then it was gone, replaced with a much happier grin when he turned to her. "This is my home. I've got family and good friends here...and my memories. Why would I give it that up?"

Astrid was puzzled by this. "But those stories you write...I flicked through some of them. You've written about a lot of different countries. Don't you want to try living there?"

Hiccup shrugged, and picked up his lunch. "Travelling is Frank's thing. I'm just his bus ticket." He took a bite.

Astrid gave him an odd look. "You do realise Frank is a fictional character...right?"

Hiccup gave a wide grin at this, then laughed. "Yes, I know. I haven't gone crazy yet. It's just that Frank has been such a big part of my life, it seems wrong to refer to him as just a figment of my imagination. Haven't you ever watched a movie, then day dreamed about getting to know a certain character?"

Astrid blushed, then mumbled, "I did watch a movie about Vikings and dragons once, and I dreamt about what it would be like as a shield maiden in Viking times," she admitted.

"There...see? That's why I talk about Frank as I do. He's real to me."

Astrid laughed softly. "Okay...I get it."

Hiccup turned to Astrid. "What about you…have you travelled?"

Astrid was a little caught out by the question. "Me? I've travelled up and down this country a lot. Mostly visiting relatives. We seem to be the most far flung family on the earth," she laughed.

Hiccup chuckled.

Astrid continued. "I've always wanted to go further but I guess I've been putting it off till after I finish my degree, and get some practical work experience. Plus…I'd love to travel with a friend or friends. I can't imagine seeing all those sights and have nobody to share it with. That would be disheartening."

Hiccup's smile seemed to droop. "Mmm…it is," he murmured so quietly that Astrid almost missed it. She eyed him off quizzically, wondering yet again what it was that made Hiccup tick.

It was something that she'd already noticed…those momentary flashes of sadness that Hiccup would let slip before covering it over. What was it that caused him to feel so down? Was it part of the reason why he had made himself such a hermit? She badly wanted to ask, but knew she would have to bide her time. In the meantime, she was going to do all she could to show him, she was his friend.

"More tea?" Astrid asked, suspending the flask towards him.

"Thanks," he said, lifting up his cup for a refill. She filled his, then hers before putting it down. The two sat back to enjoy the warm beverage, sipping quietly.

Hiccup cast his eye surreptitiously over the girl beside him. Despite all the bumblings and embarrassments so far, he was glad they had made the trip up here together. He was enjoying his time with his guest. Raven's Point had always held a special place in his heart, and he was happy he could share it with Astrid.

He knew the young woman was growing on him, her bright and cheerful nature bringing a light to his dull world. Hiccup knew that his life was fairly staid, but he had been relatively fine with that. But having Astrid around like a breath of fresh air made him wonder how long he had been suffocating...and not knowing about it.

It also made him feel a little lost. Her time with him was only for a very short time. Then he would have to adjust back to his normal routine. While part of him was looking forward to the reprieve, a smaller part didn't want her to go. What frightened him the most, was that small part was steadily growing. Hiccup knew a future wasn't possible for the mis-matched pair. So he was quick to push the thought aside.

His gaze shifted towards the collie, still happily snuffling around the edges of the park. Hiccup gave a small grin at the sight. Toothless had been with him for a few years now, and Hiccup considered the dog his best friend…best non-human friend anyway.

Hiccup noticed the wind was playing havoc with the dog's long fur, and nudged Astrid to point out Toothless. The collie had turned against the wind, the effect of the stiff breeze pushing the dog's fur forwards giving him a comical puffy look. Astrid giggled, and Hiccup smiled. Toothless looked up at them, then wagged his tail. His tongue lolled out the side of his mouth as he gave them a wide doggy grin. The next moment he started galloping flat out towards the young couple.

Hiccup's eyes widened as he realised what was about to happen. "No! Toothless, stop!" he shouted, putting out his hand and leaning towards Astrid to protect her from the dog's determined onslaught. In the process, he accidentally knocked over the hot tea flask…right onto Astrid's lap. She shrieked from the unexpected heat and jolted sideways, madly brushing the boiling liquid from her lap.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I'm sorry," stammered Hiccup, completely mortified. Grabbing some napkins, he tried to mop up the liquid from her jeans and picked up the spilled flask, only to have it fall over again.

"Woah, that's hot!" exclaimed Astrid, her hands bumping into his as they both tried to clear the mess.

In the meantime, Toothless had reached them and charged right in, knocking into Hiccup and licking both of them in his excitement. Astrid and Hiccup screwed up their faces, raising their arms to fend off the determined tongue.

"Toothless, no!" spluttered Hiccup as the collie licked him right across his cheek. "Yuck! I'm sorry, I don't do doggy kisses," he said, pushing the dog away.

Meanwhile, Astrid had managed to free herself from the chaos and stood up. She was still trying to wipe tea from her clothes without any success, when she looked over at Hiccup being knocked flat by the excited collie. She laughed at the sight, which brought the dog's attention towards her. He wagged his tail enthusiastically, then stepped forward. Astrid's eyes widened.

Astrid put one hand out in a 'stop' motion and backed away slowly. "Stay…good dog…stay," she cautioned.

The distraction allowed Hiccup the time to sit up, and wipe dog slobber from his chin with the sleeve of his shirt. He saw straight away that the collie now had a new target. Hiccup launched himself forward, managing to tackle the dog to the ground before Toothless had a chance to jump at Astrid.

"I've got you now, you fiendish hound," he cried, giving the dog a huge hug. Toothless wiggled and fought like a slippery eel, twisting every which way till Hiccup was forced to let him go. The collie jumped to his feet and faced his owner, his tongue hanging out and his ears pointed straight up with the exhilarating game they were playing.

He pounced on Hiccup, and his owner grabbed him, rolling over with him on the rug. The action knocked the half empty container of egg pie over, spilling the remaining food and sending napkins flying through the air. Hiccup landed on the pie, squashing it over his corduroy pants and sweater.

"Arghh," he groaned, feeling the moisture seeping through the thick material.

Astrid could only laugh helplessly at the scene in front of her, holding her stomach while she leaned forward. Hiccup tried to sit up and brush off the destroyed lunch in disgust, but Toothless kept tackling him. Hiccup's beanie was dislodged in the action and fell to the ground, his auburn hair blowing across his face.

"Get off, you crazy dog," Hiccup protested, pushing the collie away. Astrid decided she had better help, so she stepped forward to take hold of the dog's collar, and dragged him backwards till Hiccup could find his feet.

He'd only made it to his knees, when a particularly strong breeze blew past, taking the now empty lunch container with it and rolling it down the hill. Hiccup threw himself after it, wanting to stop it blowing down the hill, but missed. Instead he landed on the ground, hard.

"Oof. That hurt," he mumbled, laying face first into the grass.

Astrid held on to Toothless with one hand, and reached out for the container racing past her with the other, but wasn't fast enough. So she let go of the dog and chased after the lunch box that was rapidly disappearing down the slope. Unfortunately, she tripped and tumbled down.

"Astrid! Are you okay?" asked Hiccup worriedly, quickly getting up to follow her.

Astrid sat up and laughed. She held her palms up while she examined herself, finding the evidence of her spill as shown by the grass stains over her jeans mixed in with the brown tea. Her tight braid had loosened, a few blades of grass tucked in for good measure.

Hiccup walked over to her, embarrassed by what had just happened and worried about the girl that he was meant to be caring for. As he drew closer, he could see that she was obviously alright. Despite his shock, he couldn't help the grin that lit up at the sight of her.

Hiccup stuck out his hand and she took it. He easily hauled her to her feet, and they stood before each other, inspecting the damage that had been done. There was nothing either could say, except to laugh themselves senseless at the bedlam created by one hyperactive dog.

Astrid then noticed that the stray napkins from their lunch had been blowing away down the hill. Toothless was already chasing them, leaping on them with his front paws to pin them down.

"Go Toothless," she giggled.

"We'd better help him," said Hiccup, still chuckling. "The council takes a dim view of littering on their scenic hills."

He started to walk down the steep incline, but suddenly found himself sliding on his backside instead. He yelped as he fell.

"Woah, watch out, Hiccup," said Astrid, taking a step after him only to find herself in a similar position. She landed on her hip, sprawling ungraciously on the ground. "Ouch!"

Hiccup stretched out, and grabbed her by the hand. He pulled her up into a sitting position. "You okay?" he asked, when she was upright again.

Astrid rubbed her hip ruefully. "I'm sure I'll be black and blue tomorrow, but I'm fine," she told him.

They sat beside each other, forearms resting on their raised knees.

"How are we going to get out of this one?" Astrid asked. Neither were game enough to try standing again, knowing they would probably slip on the damp grass.

"It's going to be a challenge," said Hiccup, agreeing with her. "Plus we still need to pick up our rubbish."

"Is Toothless any good at fetch?" asked Astrid hopefully. The dog raced up and down the slope with ease, while his two footed companions could only watch in envy.

Hiccup gave her a look that said it all.

"Okay, I guess that's a nope."

In the end, they managed to gather the napkins and the container without further incident, stuffing the paper into all the pockets they had. Hiccup had the better grip on the grass, so he took hold of her upper arm and dragged her forward till they were both able to stand with confidence on more level ground.

The whole time Astrid couldn't stop giggling, which didn't help matters. Hiccup tried not to, but he was soon laughing as well. By now, both looked like walking disasters with food and grass stains covering their clothes. Paper towels were poking out of their back pockets, and Astrid held the stray container in her hand.

"You look ridiculous," she told him, her eyes bright with laughter while she tried to pick the grass out of her hair.

"Thanks," he said drily, "So do you."

"Why thank you," she said, giving him a mock bow. "I believe this is yours."

Astrid handed the container over, and he took it.

"I'm not letting this get away again," he promised, giving it a little shake.

Walking over to the rug, he leant over to pack up what was left of their picnic lunch into the backpack. Then he gathered up the rug and was rolling it into a bundle when Astrid found his beanie. She picked it up and shook it out. Hiccup had both his hands occupied, so Astrid decided she was going to take advantage of the situation. Without asking, she walked towards Hiccup while his head was still bowed, concentrating on his task. In a single motion, she raked her fingers through his hair while simultaneously smoothing his beanie on over his head.

He looked up, completely flustered at her actions while she finished dragging her fingers through the last curls around his neck.

"There," she said with a smug grin, standing back and surveying her work. "Back where it belongs."

Hiccup was still frozen, the bag hanging limply in his hands, with the rug half stuffed into it.

"Um…er…yeah, thanks," he finally stuttered. His cheeks were already coloured from the cold breeze, but they became an even deeper colour as he tried hard to pretend that a blonde girl placing his beanie back on his head and running her fingers through his hair, was a normal occurrence. He finished packing the bag and slung it over his shoulders.

"Ready?" he stammered out, jostling the bag to fit more comfortably on his back.

"Sure," she grinned, waiting for him to lead the way home.

He gave an uncertain glance in her direction once more, than preceded to walk towards the pathway. He had been completely thrown by her action, and more so by the shot of electricity that had flashed across his scalp at her touch. If he hadn't been so rigid in shock, he probably would have melted right into it. And of course, this realisation put him straight on edge.

He must not develop feelings for this girl. That was way too dangerous. Unfortunately, it was not an easy directive for him to follow. Astrid was such a bright spark, he couldn't help but feel attracted to her vibrant nature. And the way they teased and joked with other, it just felt so natural…and so right.

But still, she was Fishleg's younger cousin. Much younger cousin. Hiccup felt very confused about his feelings for the blonde woman. How could something feel so wrong and so right at the same time?

Hiccup was so focused on his thoughts, that he missed a step and stumbled. Astrid's hand wrapped around his arm, kept him upright.

"Er…thanks. We'd probably better step it up a little before we freeze up here," he said, the remembrance of her touch on his skin still replaying in his mind.

Frustrated with himself, Hiccup led with a steady pace all the way back to the house.

On the walk back, Astrid noticed her host had developed a slight limp in his gait. She watched him closely, worried that he was hurting himself more with his rapid pace. She was concentrating so hard on his movements, that she failed to notice the ambush until it was too late.

"Arghh!" she screamed, jolting when she found herself under attack from two ninja kitties leaping out from the bushes as she passed by. The cats had their claws out and clung to her thick sweater where they had landed. They only stayed a moment, jumping down and racing away before she'd even had a chance to catch her wits.

Astrid stood stock still, her hands up and her eyes wide while she wondered what had just happened. Astrid thought it was lucky she hadn't been holding anything at the time, otherwise it would have ended up being flung into the air.

Hiccup had turned at the first sound of her scream, but had been unable to help. Mainly because he was trying very hard not to laugh outright at the shocked girl, his hand covering a massive grin.

"What. Was. That?" she eventually managed to ask, her eyes still wide.

Hiccup chuckled, "That…was the reason I can't have mail delivered anymore," he told her.

Astrid finally settled, and chuckled too. She began walking again to catch up with Hiccup. "I can fully understand that. Nothing like a good 'ole heart starter every morning to make you want to quit your job."

He gave her a lop-sided grin. "That's what the mailman said too."

Astrid touched her fingers to her forehead. "He has my respect."

The two laughed, and walked the rest of the way home.

* * *

 **Part two of this chapter to come soon...**


	8. Chapter 8

**I apologize for the delay. I had this all written out, then decided to scrap it and start again. I'm much happier with the result! Now on for part b!**

* * *

Astrid and Hiccup were still laughing when they entered the house, Hiccup opening the door with his key. Walking inside, he dropped the bag on the kitchen table and started pulling out the leftovers from their impromptu picnic.

Astrid threw the rubbish in the bin, while Hiccup placed the dirty things in the sink to be washed up later.

"Well, that was a lot of fun," she said cheerfully. "Even if we came back a little less than pristine."

Hiccup looked up, a smile still on his face. "It was, wasn't it?" he said, obviously surprised at the thought. It made Astrid think that 'having fun' was not a regular occurrence for him. That concerned her, so she vowed she would do all she could to keep that grin on his lips.

Astrid grabbed a cloth to wipe the spillage off the table, while Hiccup shook out the bag over the sink. "I'm starting to believe what you said earlier," she said.

Hiccup glanced over, still checking for any stray crumbs. "Which was?"

She smirked. "That it's never boring with Toothless and your cats around," she said impishly.

Hiccup laughed loudly. "No...no it's not. And I'm glad you got to see the evidence so soon for yourself. Now I don't have to embarrass myself trying to explain when they get into mischief, and I'm the only one who saw it."

Astrid rinsed out the cloth in the sink, wiping down the edges as she went. "Oh, I still think you're using them as scapegoats for your twisted habits," she said, giving him a sly glance.

His face dropped, mortified at the suggestion. "No! I..." He stopped when he realised she was laughing at him. "Oh, I see how it is," he grinned. He stuck his nose in the air, pretending to be miffed. "Just for that, I won't let you have the shower first."

He went to stride off out of the kitchen, throwing the bag on a chair as he went past.

Astrid laughed. "But what about guest privileges?" she asked teasingly, following close behind.

"Oh, you want to pull the guest card, do you? Nope...won't work," he said, shaking his head. He had almost reached the other side of the living room, and was about to head down the hallway to his bedroom.

"Then what about the female card?" she asked, still trailing him.

He gave a loud snort. "Ha! That's the least appealing option. I've know how you women like to take over the shower, use up all the hot water and spend forever in there. No chance!"

Hiccup reached his bedroom door and disappeared inside. Astrid turned into her own room, hoping to grab her stuff and beat him to the bathroom, but she was to be disappointed. He knocked on her doorframe as he strolled past, letting her know she had missed out.

"Hey!" she yelled, her hand barely on the cupboard door.

His laughter floated back to her. "Better luck next time!" he yelled back, the bathroom door closing on his voice.

Astrid was a little shocked at his boldness. She had fully expected that he would give in and let her shower first. For him to blatantly mock her as he went past, was completely opposite to what she knew of him so far.

Astrid smiled to herself. She had found herself attracted to the shy and bumbling Hiccup. But this bold and brazen version of the usually quiet man was appealing too. His reaction had also sparked her competitive nature. If that's how he wanted to play it, she wasn't going to back down.

"Next time, Hiccup. I'll be ready for you," she promised quietly.

-oOo-

Hiccup closed the door behind him, then leaned up against it. He couldn't believe he had just done that. It was as if the carefree young blonde had awakened a dormant part of him that hadn't seen the light of day for many years. But he had to admit, it had been fun to have someone to banter with.

He raised his hand to remove his beanie, but the action reminded him sharply of Astrid's unexpected assault on his head. The triumphant look she had worn had let him know she had done it on purpose, but for what reason he didn't know. Hiccup didn't want to contemplate why she would choose such an action, except for youthful enthusiasm on an otherwise pleasurable afternoon.

He thought ahead, wondering what else was going to happen while she was there. He had to suspect there would be more of the same...something he unexpectantly found himself looking forward to.

Hiccup's lips tilted in an ironic smile. As long as he remembered that this was only temporary, there wouldn't be any harm. At least... he hoped so.

-oOo-

Astrid was waiting patiently, playing with Toothless and the ninja cats in the living room when Hiccup finally emerged from the bathroom. For once, he was beanie-less, his hair damp on his shoulders. Astrid also noticed with great interest, that he had dressed in a V-necked pullover instead of his usual turtle neck sweater. She also saw the tiny glint of a gold necklace before he moved and it was hidden again. It all added to the appeal. The result was quite pleasing to the eye.

Astrid tried to be discrete while she checked him out, but when she noticed him lowering his gaze and the colour rising up his cheeks, she knew she'd been spotted. Despite the blush on her own face, Astrid was quick to taunt him. "Did you leave me any water?" she asked, one brow lifted high.

Hiccup's response came straight back. "Why? Did you want some?" he asked, giving her an innocent look.

Astrid smirked. "That would be nice. Although it wouldn't bother me if there wasn't any. You're the one who will have to put up with the smell after all," she answered, brushing past him towards the bath.

"Nothing a nose peg won't fix," he said loudly. She laughed and closed the shower door.

-oOo-

Later that evening, Astrid was helping Hiccup with dinner. It was more like choosing a selection of Mrs Ingerman's leftovers, which thankfully were almost finished, but still Astrid had insisted on playing her part. She didn't feel right letting Hiccup do all the work.

"Are you sure your leg is okay?" she asked Hiccup for about the third time. When he had appeared with an ice pack after their walk, her fears about him injuring himself had been confirmed.

He smiled at her reassuringly, while he sliced vegetables for the salad. "Yes, thank you. You forced me to rest with ice for long enough this afternoon."

Astrid grinned, pleased with her earlier efforts. She was dishing out the last of the egg pie onto two plates.

"I did, didn't I? Although I still don't know why you wouldn't take your shoe off. I told Ruffnut it was because you had a hairy wart on your big toe," Astrid giggled.

"You what?" spluttered Hiccup, taken aback. He paused in his work and stared at her, aghast. "Is that what you were whispering to the cat about?"

"Yup!"

"Any other theories or wild suggestions I should know about?" he asked with a wry chuckle, turning back to the vegies.

Astrid thought about all the things she had fanaticized about Hiccup and whispered in the twins ears.

"Nope."

"Well, you can rest assured that I don't have a hairy wart. Does that soothe your curiosity?" he asked, with a sideways glance at her.

"It will do for now," she replied lightly, grinning widely.

Hiccup snorted. He finished slicing, and tipped all the ingredients into the salad bowl. "Maybe I should be grateful that you haven't held me to ransom with another popcorn war."

Astrid laughed in delight. "But it was fun!" she teased, waving a fork at him before placing it on the table with the rest of the cutlery.

Hiccup glanced down at Toothless at his feet, waiting patiently for any morsels to come his way. He grinned in fond remembrance. "Yes, it actually was. I will admit that. Even if my faithful furry vacuum cleaner claimed most of it."

"The spoils go to the victor!" Astrid proclaimed, bending over to give the collie an affectionate cuddle. Toothless responded by giving her a lick across the cheek. "Ergh!" She wiped off the dog slobber with her sleeve.

Hiccup's brows shot up in surprise. "Victor? Since when did Toothless change sides?"

Astrid grinned at him. "Since he got the spoils and I won the war," she told him playfully, still stroking Toothless.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Of course… traitorous hound," he said as he watched the collie lap up the attention that Astrid was providing.

Astrid stood up and washed her hands at the sink. "You finished with that?" she asked, indicating the salad Hiccup was tossing.

He gave it a final stir. "Yeah, it's done."

"Great." Astrid took it from him and placed it on the table.

Sitting down, she waited expectantly for him to seat himself. He was taking his time, cleaning up the mess he had left behind and Astrid grew impatient. "Come on, grandad. Food's getting cold here," she complained.

Hiccup looked up, his brows rising at her words. "Grandad? You calling me slow?"

Astrid shrugged nonchalantly. "Maybe? Whatcha gonna do about it?" she challenged.

He went to sit down. "Perhaps you should recall who beat your grassy backside into the shower?" he reminded her, pushing the salad bowl towards her.

"You were just lucky," she told him airily, dishing salad onto her plate.

"Not likely," he snorted. "Speaking of old folk, I nearly died of shock when you said you wanted to watch a soapie on tv. I thought you had turned into my grandmother," said Hiccup with a chuckle at the memory.

"What? Your granny was pretty funky too?" asked Astrid, her mouth half stuffed with salad. She was staring at him in wide eyed innocence, but Hiccup was fast learning when she was trying to dupe him.

His eyes narrowed and he smirked at her attempt. "Nice try. Yes, actually, my Gran was pretty neat. But no, she didn't watch soapies."

"Probably too busy keeping you out of mischief," said Astrid with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

Hiccup shrugged with a self-conscious lop sided grin, picking up his fork. "Not too far from the truth, there," he had to admit. "I seemed to be the clumsiest kid to ever grace the Haddock clan. You've seen my father…" He indicated the largest photo on the living room wall that could be seen through the kitchen doorway. "Huge, solid man that a full grown elephant couldn't knock over?"

Astrid's eyes drifted towards the photo and she nodded.

"All the Haddocks were big, overgrown men. Me?" Hiccup pointed to himself. "First Haddock male that could fit through a regular door without having to turn sideways."

Astrid snorted, making Hiccup grin.

Astrid glanced at him, noticing how relaxed he was. Thinking about his parents made her curiosity burn brighter. So, despite Fishleg's warning…she decided she wanted to take a risk.

"So you were super skinny and your dad super huge, huh? Nothing like him then?" she half teased, keeping her tone light while she watched his reaction like a hawk.

A familiar sad look filled his eyes and his smile drooped a little…but he didn't turn away.

"You could probably say that…although my mum and my uncle used to tell me I had my father's stubbornness. But I couldn't see it," Hiccup told her with a half grin.

"I don't know you well enough, yet. I'll pass judgement in a few weeks," she smirked.

Hiccup gave an embarrassed smile, dropping his gaze to the table and nervously concentrated on his food.

Astrid cut a slice from her pie. "What were they like? Your parents?" she asked quietly, before popping the food into her mouth.

He smiled wistfully, his gaze going back to the photos on the wall. "They were wonderful. Although dad and I certainly butted heads when I was younger. I think mum was ready to throw us both out of the house at one point. We always seemed to be arguing. It was mum that finally managed to get it through our thick skulls to start _listening_ to each other, rather than talking _at_ each other."

Astrid waved her fork at him. "Good advice. I like your mum already."

Hiccup grinned. "Yeah, and she probably would have liked you too. I know she used to talk about you when you were just a cute and adorable little girl in pigtails," he teased.

Astrid blushed. "Well I'm all grown up now," she began, huffing a little in defense.

"Still cute and adorable though," he laughed. He had said it just to annoy her, but once the words were out of his mouth, he realised how she could have taken them. Her shocked expression telling him immediately that was exactly what had happened. He cleared his throat nervously. "Um…I mean, in a purely platonic kind of way, of course."

Astrid blinked, fighting to regain her composure. "Of course," she echoed.

Both were squirming in their seats, uncomfortable about the sudden turn in the conversation and not sure how to correct it. Astrid found a solution first.

"So…your dad was the Mayor, wasn't he?" she asked, doing her best to use a normal voice.

Hiccup gave a silent sigh of relief. "Yeah, he was. And a fantastic one at that. Mum was always very proud of him. So was I, actually, once I began to realise that he was more than just my dad. Everybody loved him in Berk."

Astrid nodded in agreement. "I remember complaining about my dad being away all the time when I was at school. It was only when I left, that I started to see how hard it was for him being manager of his own company as well as a father. But I feel lucky. He's always been there when I needed him, no matter where in the world they are."

Hiccup chuckled. "For me it was the other way round. Dad was always here, while I went travelling. He never stopped me, in fact he encouraged me to explore while I could. I did for a while, but then I came back and started university."

Astrid glanced over. "It sounds like he was proud of you."

Hiccup nodded and gave a reminiscent smile. "Yeah, he was. Although when I was a kid, I used to think he was disappointed in me because I was so clumsy and lousy at sports. He used to be this great football jock at school, but every time he looked at me, it was like somebody had skipped the meat in his sandwich and given him a talking fishbone instead."

Astrid snorted, but unfortunately a piece of food decided to enter uncharted territory. She choked, and Hiccup stood up quickly to pat her smartly between her shoulder blades. He kept his hand on her shoulder.

"You okay?" he asked in concern, handing her a glass of water.

Astrid took it gratefully, and swallowed a mouthful. She coughed again, and Hiccup rubbed her back for her.

"Thanks," she rasped out. He stood back. Despite her aggrieved throat, Astrid had certainly noticed how warm his hand felt on her shoulder, and could still feel the imprint of where his hand had rested.

She took a few more sips of water to lubricate her throat, then gave him a bright smile. "You don't look clumsy to me…or like a fishbone."

Hiccup blushed, sitting down. "Not so much now…but I still have my moments."

"Yeah…awkward ones at that," she smirked.

"Hey!"

"I'm just saying what I saw earlier. Now _that_ was awkward!" she reminded him, with a playful grin.

Hiccup screwed up his face in a disconcerted grimace. "Thank you for reminding me," he said drily, recalling what had happened earlier that afternoon. When Hiccup thought he was going to spend a whole hour fighting boredom to keep his eyes open watching Astrid's soapie, it had turned out to be anything but.

Astrid had first attempted to explain the convoluted plot involving a doctor, a nurse with a twin sister and a comatose patient with a devious sinister character trying to assassinate him. Just the storyline alone had his head spinning.

Then she had wickedly invited him to join her in a game that Astrid would often play with her friends. It involved them turning down the volume and ad-libbing their own words and actions. Hiccup was reluctant, but Astrid persisted in cajoling him, finally wearing him down so he laughingly agreed to play.

At first his attempts at replacing the actors words with his own were fumbled and cringe worthy...especially when he observed with high amusement the quick wit that Astrid displayed, pouring her heart and soul into it as she delivered her lines with dramatic poise. But he had been a fast learner, and soon the two were re-creating the smoldering tension between the main characters...when they weren't falling over laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of it all.

Hiccup had been truly amazed as he watched her, struck by the fearlessness she showed. She was really something, he had to admit that. He couldn't believe how much laughing he had done in one day…all because of this lithe young woman in front of him, who somehow didn't seem to care about niceties and propriety…or age differences.

Hiccup chuckled at the memories. "When you pretended to smooch on poor Tuffnut, I laughed so hard, I'm sure I split my spleen."

Astrid giggled. "I don't think that poor cat will forgive me any time soon."

Hiccup watched her over the brim of his cup while she polished off the last of her meal. He felt more relaxed than he had been for some time, and this surprised him. He hadn't expected to feel this way with another person in his home ever again.

When Fishlegs had first told him his nineteen year old cousin was coming to stay, Hiccup had been anxious about how much disruption he would have to suffer. Turns out he had been right...the young woman in question had completely turned his world upside down in a much bigger way than he could ever have imagined. But somehow, it didn't seem to matter. Not yet, anyway.

Hiccup was sure the holiday mood would soon end. When she started work next week, he would have to settle down into a different routine. And when she left, he could resume his solitary life once more. Hiccup felt a twinge in his stomach at the idea, but he ignored it.

She glanced up, catching his eye. He smiled warmly at her. "You know, I don't think I've laughed so hard since…well, for a long time anyway," he told her with a chuckle.

Astrid felt dismay at his words. Had his parent's death really caused him to be so sad and melancholy that he had stopped laughing? A sharp pang hit her chest at the thought of it, and she ached to bring more joy to his life.

So she narrowed her eyes playfully at him. "Don't you know laughing keeps you young?" she told him with an impish smirk and a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

He grinned right back. "Oh, so you're going to tell me that underneath that fresh face of yours, there is a one hundred year old woman with a laughing habit?"

She pointed her butter knife at him. "That's my secret, sonny boy. Show some respect to your elders."

Hiccup gave a mock bow. "Yes, ma'am."

He was laughing when it happened. He blinked, seeing the pig-tailed little cousin of his best friend Fishlegs. When he blinked again, he was looking at a beautiful young woman, every inch an adult. He smiled, only his sub-conscious noting the difference. But from then on, that was all he saw… even if his conscious mind refused to make the change.

"I'll have you laughing your worries away, before I'm through with you," she told him with such a determined glint in her eye that Hiccup felt no doubt that she would succeed. Especially if today had been any indication. His cheek muscles were already hurting from such prolonged stretching.

For a moment, his thoughts drifted back to the last time he had a reason to laugh. A sudden shaft of deep-seated pain threatened to take away this unusual sensation of lightness that he had somehow acquired. Microsecond flashes of past nightmares popped up in his mind, but he fiercely pushed them down. He was not going to give in to them. Not now. Instead he forced himself to focus on the woman in front of him.

"You're very sure of yourself, aren't you?" he noted.

She grinned at him, highly pleased at his comment. "Oh, I'm very determined when it comes to getting what I want," she told him. But the way she looked at him made him think that he was on her 'most wanted' list. His heart skipped a beat at the thought, and his breath hitched. The idea that someone like Astrid could desire a man like him caused his heart to soar momentarily...before it dropped like a stone, and he could feel his anxiety start to climb instead.

No, he didn't _want_ to be attracted to the effervescent blonde woman living in his home, so he refused to acknowledge those feelings. He was a broken, much _older_ man, who had no right to such thoughts. He knew it would only lead to pain and more loneliness.

 _'It's just because we've been together all day. I'm only being a good host,'_ he told himself, _'I can't leave her all alone by herself…that would be rude.'_

Hiccup did his best to repeat those words to himself like a mantra…or perhaps a verbal talisman to remind himself that Fishleg's _younger_ cousin was in his house and under his care and protection. She was not there for him to ogle over like a lecherous old man.

He didn't realise he was staring till Astrid waved a hand in front of his face. "Earth to Hiccup. Are you in there?" she asked.

He jolted and gave a sheepish grin. "Sorry about that. Drifted away for a moment."

"What were you thinking of?" she asked curiously.

He blushed, knowing he couldn't tell her the truth. "Ahh….what to feed Toothless now that he's completely stuffed full of popcorn," he offered, hoping she would accept the obvious lie.

She gave him a funny look but didn't pull him up on it. "I don't think Toothless has a stopping point. He is _ruthless_ when it comes to food," she retorted.

"Yeah," he chuckled, turning towards his faithful canine laying on the floor in the corner. "He can eat."

Astrid stood up and began stacking the used dishes. Hiccup went to protest, but she placed her hand on his shoulder to stop him. For a brief moment, she allowed herself the pleasure of lingering so she could feel his strong shoulder through the sweater. Her gaze took in his slightly opened mouth, and she wondered what would happen if she leant forward just a little...just a little, and kissed him. Her breath hitched at the thought and she had to yank her hand away before she could act on it.

"Stay. Your knee still needs rest. Plus I need to do my share," she told him firmly, despite those words not being the ones she wanted to say.

Hiccup thought about fighting her on this, but from the look on her face he felt it was probably safer to do as he was told. But he could still complain about it.

"My knee is plenty fine. You're my guest. You shouldn't be working," he told her.

She shot him a look that told him exactly what she thought of that idea. "Or not, your choice," he decided.

Astrid nodded smugly, taking the dirty dishes to the sink and turning the water on. She started opening cupboards looking for the detergent.

"Left one," said Hiccup helpfully. When Astrid started splashing the water to stir up more bubbles, Hiccup decided he didn't want to sit and watch. He wanted to work alongside her.

Walking over he picked up the tea towel. Before she could say anything, he cut her off. "Work is much more fun when there are two," he simply said.

She couldn't argue with that, so they stood side by side to clean the dishes. Hiccup hazarded a glance towards the blonde girl beside him. It felt nice to be like this. Two people together, just as things were meant to be. But when his thoughts began to shoot off down some dangerous paths, Hiccup stopped them in their tracks, refusing to over think the situation. Right now, he just wanted to enjoy the moment. There was time enough for worry later.

-oOo-

After dinner, the two had retired to the living room where the Siamese cats antics kept them entertained. Ruff and Tuff were having their usual evening skirmish, but this time they had supporters. Hiccup was urging Tuff on, whilst Astrid was behind Ruff's efforts. They laughed heartily, neither noticing just how close together they were. Till Astrid yawned.

Hiccup looked over, his arm resting casually along the back of the couch. Astrid was sitting beside him, but leaning forward talking to the female twin on the floor. Glancing down the length of his arm, Hiccup was unnerved to see that if Astrid sat back into the couch, he would be right behind her. He discretely pulled his arm back.

Astrid stifled another yawn.

"I heard that. Time for bed, I think," he said to her.

She nodded slowly, not willing to argue the point. It had been a long day, with another one due tomorrow.

"Me thinks so too," she replied, stretching her arms forward with her fingers intertwined.

Hiccup watched her supple form move so gracefully before he realised what he was doing. He tore his eyes away and stood up, waiting for her to step ahead of him down the hallway.

Reaching her bedroom, Astrid hesitated. Hiccup brushed past her on the way to his own room.

"Good night, Hiccup," she said softly.

Hiccup halted outside his bedroom. "Good night, Astrid."

He was still standing there, watching Astrid as she entered hers.

"Astrid?" he called suddenly.

"Yes?" she said, coming back to hold onto the doorframe.

"I really enjoyed myself today. Thank you," he told her sincerely, the emotions coming from deep within his heart.

Astrid gave him a gentle smile. "You're welcome," she said lightly before entering her room once more.

Hiccup stood by his door for a moment longer, staring at the space where she used to be, before heading to his own bed with a shake of his head and a quiet chuckle.

Astrid changed into her pyjama's, then pulled back her blanket and slid in between the sheets. She laid her head on the pillow with a deeply satisfied sigh, placing her hands behind her head. A small smile was still on her lips as she thought about the day she and Hiccup had shared. It had been wonderful beyond compare, the best part being she'd managed to peel one of those protective layers from her handsome green eyed host and made him more comfortable around her.

Finding out what lay beneath hadn't dampened her enthusiasm for him one iota. In fact, it had only strengthened her crush a little more. Hiccup was like nobody she'd ever met before. He was kind, generous and funny…and he had a hidden competitive streak that Astrid was keen to see more of. He stirred the fire within her belly. Astrid wasn't surprised to find she wanted more.

Her eyes gently closed and her smile persisted while her thoughts turned to dreams. She gave one last contented sigh, finally succumbing to sleep with the pleasant images of a certain tall, auburn haired gentle man dancing behind her closed lids.


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry for the delay! I'm very slowly working on all my stories when I can, but time is precious right now. Anyway, hope you like this chapter. We are finally moving forward!**

* * *

Astrid rolled over and yawned. Her eyes were still closed but she wore a contented smile. Last night's dreams had been rather vivid and she didn't want to open her eyes and chase them away just yet.

But it wasn't long before her bodily needs overrode her desire to stay in a state of dream like bliss.

She got up.

After dressing in her running clothes, Astrid snuck quietly through the house. The light in Hiccup's study caught her attention so she wandered in that direction. She found him hunched over his keyboard and typing madly, completely focused on his work. Toothless and the twins were lounging beside him, and they raised their heads towards her as she approached. Putting her finger to her lip in a silent 'shh', she waited till they settled before going back to observing Hiccup. He ran a hand through his tussled hair, repeating a motion that he'd obviously performed many times already this morning, judging by how much it was sticking out. Astrid sighed quietly at the action, then immediately felt annoyed at herself for melting into a puddle so quickly.

Hiccup still hadn't given any indication he knew she was there, so Astrid decided it would be best to leave him to continue his work without further disruption...and before she embarrassed herself.

An hour later, she was back from her run. The 'tap tap tap' of his keyboard was still going strong, so she headed straight for the shower to wash the sweat away. The sound of his dedicated typing made Astrid realise that since her arrival, Hiccup had barely done any writing. He'd already told her he was struggling to meet his deadline in a few short weeks...and that was before she'd crashed uninvited into his life demanding his time and distracting him.

Guilt began to overwhelm her and she vowed she would repay him by doing all she could to help him out. So while she washed her hair, she began to plan.

Hiccup still hadn't moved from his position when she'd emerged from the bathroom, prompting Astrid to aim straight for the kitchen. Pulling out two coffee cups, she flicked the switch on the kettle. A few minutes later, she was approaching the study with two hot cups of caffeine in her hand, when she heard Hiccup talking. For a moment, Astrid thought he was talking to her, but then realised something was slightly off.

"So what do you think? You know this place better than me...where do you want to go to find it?"

Astrid was startled at his words, shooting a strange look to the back of his head. She was about to ask him what he meant, when he spoke again. "Oh, you don't know? Well, excuuuuse me for asking."

Astrid finally caught on to what he was doing.

"Do you often talk to your characters?" she asked, placing the fresh cup of brew beside him.

Hiccup jumped, his head whipping around so fast Astrid was sure it was about to fly off his shoulders. When he saw her, he relaxed, offering a lop sided guilty grin along with the obvious answer.

"Well if I don't ask questions, how will I find the answers?"

Astrid opened her mouth to retort but found she had nothing. Instead, she shook her head in amusement.

"Forget I asked. I'll go now before you to convince me to start talking to your characters."

"Thanks for the coffee," he sang out to her, grasping the mug for a sip of rejuvenating caffeine.

She casually waved her hand at him, and left him to it. The overstuffed bookcase was right outside his door, and Astrid began to peruse the titles he had on offer. Most of the authors were unfamiliar to her...except one. Hiccup Haddock had penned a few of the novels resting on the shelves. Astrid decided it was time to become properly acquainted with them. Running her finger along the spines of the books, she found one that seemed appealing and pulled it out.

Nestling onto the couch and tucking her feet up, Astrid made herself comfortable with her book in one hand and coffee in the other. It was time to find out about this Frank character Hiccup kept talking about. The back cover advertised the contents within as an action packed adventure, with Frank the hero of course. But the pages had barely turned towards the supposedly gripping first chapter, when she felt two purring warm bodies denting the cushions beside her. Smiling, Astrid welcomed the twins into her lap and began to read.

-oOo-

It was late morning before Hiccup decided it was time for a break. He yawned, leaning backwards to stretch out the kinks in his spine. The clock on the desk caught his eye, surprising him when he saw how late it was. He had been pleased with his progress, having written solidly for several hours. For a moment, Hiccup felt normal again, back to his usual routine. Till a niggle at the back of his mind prodded him to remember he had a guest. One that he had somehow misplaced.

He wondered where Astrid had gone and vaguely remembered coffee being waved under his nose earlier. He guessed that the blonde woman may have had something to do with that. Either that or Frank had really taken over and surfaced into the real world.

Lunch was on his mind, but missing from his belly so Hiccup got up in search of food. He was about to walk past the couch, however, when he had to stop and stare at what he found.

"Are you... reading?" he asked, totally flumoxed to find Astrid nose deep in one of his novels. "For, gasp, entertainment?"

She glanced up at him briefly before dropping her gaze back towards the book.

"Actually, it's all about research," she told him, her brow raised in mock disdain.

"Research," he repeated flatly, clearly not believing her statement. "What could you possibly find to research in an action novel? One hundred ways to get yourself killed," he snarked.

"No...I'm researching you," she told him.

Hiccup screwed up his face in confusion. "Huh? You want to run that by me again? I thought I heard you say you're researching me."

"I didn't stutter."

"Excuse me...but why?"

"Well...don't writers put themselves in their writings? You've written several novels involving this 'Frank' character that you are so fond of talking about. Surely some of that must come from you," she told him.

"Uh...have you actually _read_ my books? Frank is a muscle bound action man who punches his way through enemies like paper. Me? I'm a walking fishbone who sits behind a computer all day," he reminded her.

"Yes, but he's also smart, courteous...and with a heart of gold," she reminded him.

"I repeat...Frank is nothing like me."

"Okay...say I believe you. Who did you base Frank on? Surely there must be some kind of living inspiration for his character," Astrid wanted to know.

He scratched the light stubble on his cheek, thinking. "Fishlegs."

Astrid couldn't have been more surprised if Hiccup had tickled her with a feather and then told her he was an alien sent from outer space to take over the planet. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

"Fishlegs? My cousin, Fishlegs? Is that who you mean?" she asked, completely broad sided by this revelation.

"Do you know any other Fishlegs? Of course I mean your cousin, Fishlegs," said Hiccup, grinning like a Cheshire cat at her reaction.

"Fishlegs?" she repeated, staring at him incredulously before pulling herself together. "Okay, I can go with that, I mean Fish is a big guy...actually, no I can't. _Fishlegs_? The guy who's afraid of his own shadow? You made him your inspiration for Frank? Mr dive-right-in-and-leave-no-man-standing Frank? Are you serious?" she wanted to know.

"Of course. I just used my imagination to think what would Fishlegs do if he wasn't so fearful. Viola, Frank was born."

Astrid snorted. "I have to say, that's one heck of an imagination. You sure you didn't put a _little_ of yourself into Frank?"

The sides of his neck coloured up, and Hiccup dropped his gaze. "Well, of course there's going to be _some_ of me in there. I am the one writing the story after all."

She tapped the side of her cheek thoughtfully. "So it's up to me to discover which parts then? Is it the silent, mysterious part? Or the boldly courageous part? Or the fiercely loyal part?" Astrid stopped and grinned when she saw his face turning a deeper red.

"Or maybe it's the killer moves?" she teased.

He shook his head vehemently. "Uh...no, you've seen the evidence on that one," he reminded her ruefully. Astrid laughed in pure delight.

"Yup, I have."

He rolled his eyes. "No need to sound so definite about it," he said in a half-complaining tone.

"Mamma always taught me to say the truth," was her answer.

"Didn't your mamma also tell you about the subtle approach?" he wanted to know.

Astrid shrugged carelessly. "Maybe. I was too busy chasing boys up trees to listen."

Hiccup snorted. "I can imagine."

Astrid snapped her book shut, waking the two cats beside her. "Enough research for now. I'm ready for lunch."

He nodded in agreement, remembering that the two had promised to help Fishlegs that afternoon. "Right, and then we've got work to do."

Astrid followed Hiccup into the kitchen to prepare sandwiches for lunch. Hiccup handed her the ingredients for a ham and cheese sandwich out of the fridge, which she placed on the bench. Astrid opened up the packet of ham slices and the bread in preparation. Hiccup was already pulling out plates and cups, when Astrid realised there was no butter and went back to the fridge to retrieve it. In the few seconds it took while both were looking the other way, a soft footed feline jumped onto the bench right beside the ham.

Toothless suddenly barked, startling both Astrid and Hiccup . By the time either knew what was going on, Ruffnut was staging interference with the collie while Tuffnut used a sharp claw to snag a few slices of ham. Picking them up with his mouth, he leapt down and then bolted across the room, Ruffnut and Toothless in hot pursuit.

Tuffnut slid under the couch with his prize where Toothless was not able to follow. Ruffnut slipped right past the collie and went to enjoy the spoils with her brother. The frustrated dog could only sniff around the edges, not able to get close enough to chastise the naughty twins. Even that was fraught with danger, as the Siamese cats swatted sharp claws at his sensitive nose. He yelped, and scampered back towards Hiccup.

"It's alright, bud. You tried, but the twins were too fast this time," said Hiccup, offering a reassuring pat to his beleaguered dog.

Astrid was still standing in the kitchen with the butter in her hands. "I think I found another reason why you don't prepare food," she told Hiccup.

He gave her a lop-sided smirk. "What's that?"

"Because those two steal it before you've even had a chance to finish making it!"

Hiccup laughed, giving Toothless a final pat. "Come on...the two of us can take turns to stand guard," he offered.

-oOo-

About two hours later, Hiccup and Astrid along with Fishlegs were already well covered in sweat. Their goal for the day was to remove all the panelling in the walls that had been damaged by the leaking boiler, then strip back the section where the ensuite was going to be located. It involved a lot of destruction, which suited Astrid just fine. She loved the physical element of the work, relishing the satisfying strain on her muscles.

Fishlegs stood up, wiping the dripping sweat from his face. "I need a drink. Anybody else want one?" he asked.

Hiccup and Astrid both stopped what they were doing. "Sounds wonderful, Fish."

Hiccup stepped forward. "I'll get them. I need to take this rubbish out anyway."

Fishlegs didn't put up any argument, sinking gratefully onto a plastic chair. While he was prepared to work hard, he didn't find it as easy as the other two and needed more recovery time.

Hiccup left the room and Astrid sat beside her cousin. "You okay there, Fish?"

The bulky man took a few gasping breaths. "Yeah, I'll be fine after a breather."

For a few minutes, the only sound was Fishleg's laboured breathing and Astrid's more evenly paced quiet puffing. Then Fishlegs turned to his cousin. "Is everything okay up there?" he asked worriedly.

She smiled. "Yeah...Hiccup is a great host."

Fishlegs was surprised. "Really? And Hiccup's alright with you there?" He sounded uncertain, not convinced she was telling him the whole truth.

"He seems fine to me. We've been having a whole lot of fun, so if he's not okay he's hidden it really well."

Fishlegs appeared stunned at this information, which made Astrid curious. What did her cousin know that would make him react in such a shocked manner? Why was Hiccup's ability as a host under so much scrutiny?

"Why? What's wrong with Hiccup?" she asked curiously.

Fishleg's eyes darted towards the doorway, checking to see if his good friend was close by. He wasn't. Fishlegs hesitated, needing to choose his words carefully. He knew it was a sensitive subject to Hiccup, and he didn't want to upset him. But at the same time he felt Astrid should know at least a little bit of it.

"You have to promise you won't mention any of this to him," he told her urgently. "Please?"

Astrid nodded. "Of course, Fishlegs. You know you can trust me."

Fishlegs sighed. "Something happened, a few years ago now," he murmured quietly. Astrid leaned in closer to hear him. "Something tragic."

Astrid gasped in concern. "What happened?"

Her cousin sighed. "That's Hiccup's story to tell, not mine…but it left him suffering from anxiety for a long time. He doesn't usually like having others around him."

Fishlegs opened his mouth to say more, but just at that moment Hiccup could be heard walking in the hallway outside. A moment later he popped through the open doorway. The two cousins gave him bright smiles, trying not to give off guilty vibes. Hiccup didn't seem to notice.

"Here you go. Cold drinks for all," he told them cheerily, handing each a tall glass of cooled water.

Fishlegs shot Astrid a look, begging her to stay quiet. She gave him a small nod before taking the glass offered to her.

"Thank you. Took you long enough," she teased.

Hiccup chuckled, sipping at his own drink. "That's all you get now, so you had better be thankful. More hard labour for you," he promised with a smirk.

Astrid poked her tongue at him, then grinned.

Fishlegs had been watching the two banter like this since they arrived, although he wasn't sure if it was genuine or if Hiccup was hiding his anxious tendencies with casual talk.

He'd never known Hiccup to be like that before and Fishlegs was in slight shock trying to process it all. He was still waiting for the fall out.

The water disappeared pretty quickly, so Astrid stood and collected the glasses to return them to her aunt. She left the room.

Fishlegs turned to his best friend. "Everything okay with Astrid?" he asked carefully.

Hiccup gave him a relaxed smile. "Yeah. I have to admit I was a bit anxious at first...but she's been great. We've been getting on fine. Plus we had a really fun day yesterday, up at Raven's Point."

Fishlegs glanced sharply at his friend, his eyebrows shooting high. "You've been having fun? With Astrid?"

Hiccup gave Fishlegs a bemused smirk. "Is that illegal?"

The big man floundered. "No…um, no, of course not. But you…and fun? With Astrid? The two of you?"

Hiccup's grin started to slide as he listened to Fishlegs sounding so surprised about it all. "What do you mean? Is that so unusual?"

Fishlegs gave him a sympathetic look. "Frankly, yes. Ever since…well, you know."

Hiccup pulled back, feeling slightly offended. "I've had fun before," he began, feeling the need to defend himself. However, when his best friend gave him the ' _really?'_ look, he had to amend that statement.

"Okay, it may have been a while…." Another look.

"Alright! It's been a long while," he admitted.

"See? This is why I was surprised. Even with me, you haven't been…like this," Fishlegs said softly.

Hiccup grumbled at the comment. "Well, forgive me for saying this, but you're no Astrid. She's such a bright girl. It's impossible not to laugh around her."

Fishlegs glanced sharply at Hiccup, wondering if there was something further going on between the two. He was about to ask but then Astrid reappeared. She immediately walked between the two of them and slung her arms around their shoulders.

"Did you miss me?" she asked cheerily, her eyes sparkling with life and mischief. "Or where you talking about how I'm looking so hot in my workout clothes," she teased, wanting to stir them both up.

Hiccup blushed and Fishlegs stared at her, horrified and shocked that she would suggest such a thing.

"You're my cousin, Astrid! I would never say that about you!" he squeaked.

"Why not? I tell my friends how hot you are," she told him.

Fishlegs looked as if he was about to burst, his face turning as red as his mum's sweet pea flowers.

Hiccup was busy trying _not_ to notice there was a female arm draped very comfortably over his shoulders and lightly tickling him on his other arm. It didn't matter they were both slick with sweat, the sensation of another person _touching_ him had become foreign in recent years, and he found himself soaking it up, pleasuring in it. Especially as it was Astrid. Even if it was slightly awkward.

The same young woman was now looking at him expectantly, her face mere inches from his own. "Umm….," he hesitated.

She laughed. "Don't you think he looks hot?" she asked again, indicating her cousin.

Hiccup's brows rose up high and flicked an amused glance towards his bigger and highly embarrassed friend. "Personally, I don't see it, but whatever works for you," he smirked.

Fishlegs hemmed, while Astrid laughed and finally removed her arm by dragging it across his shoulders. For some reason, the action caused him to shiver slightly. He didn't get time to contemplate this because Astrid was commanding their attention.

"Enough of this chit chat! There's work to do!" she said loudly.

Fishlegs groaned while Hiccup chuckled. They got back to work.

A few minutes later, Astrid pulled on an old panel…and a few cockroaches came racing out from their exposed hiding spot. Swearing, she jumped backwards, almost landing on Hiccup in the process. He held her steady.

"Woah! Watch out…I didn't think you were frightened of a few bugs," he teased, letting her go.

"Eek!" shrieked Fishlegs when one of the nasty critters scuttled towards him. Astrid quickly stomped on it with a loud enough crunch that the big man then screwed up his nose. "Eww," he complained.

Astrid gave Hiccup a mock glare. "Does that answer your question?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am!"

Fishlegs was not fond of six legged critters…nor eight legged ones for that matter. And a few of the four legged furry variety weren't particularly welcomed either. Come to think of it, some of the two legged human kind were pretty repellent too. So it was with a high level of trepidation that Fishlegs went back to the task of pulling on the other panels, anxious lest he find more roaches.

Astrid was standing behind her cousin, and she turned to Hiccup with an evil grin and a finger to her lips.

"Shh."

As Fishlegs bent forward, Astrid very lightly ran her fingertips up his calves. The effect was instantaneous.

"Arrrghhh!" he screamed in a high pitched voice, leaping several feet into the air and scrambling backwards at the same time. Hiccup had to yank Astrid out of the way to prevent her being squashed under the heavy load. Fishlegs landed on his feet, but immediately set to dancing, his knees bending high as he frantically swiped at his skin trying to find the elusive cockroach that had just decided to take up residence on his legs.

Astrid bent over double with laughter, while Hiccup tried very hard not to chuckle at his friend's extreme discomfort. But he couldn't help it. The sight of Fishlegs moving so fast and so high was just too hysterical to keep it bottled up.

Poor Fishlegs was most affronted. He pointed at Astrid. "You…you…you…Don't do that again!" he spluttered. "You _know_ how much I hate those things."

Astrid tried her best to appear chastened, but her mouth didn't get the memo and kept giggling. "I'm sorry Fishlegs."

Her cousin didn't look very convinced of her sincerity. "Then stop laughing," he demanded.

She tried…sort of…but wasn't very successful.

Hiccup tried to mollify his friend. "It's okay Fishlegs. I'm sure Astrid has learnt her lesson and won't do it again…today at least. But you have to see it from this side…it did look funny."

Fishlegs narrowed his eyes, but took in a deep breath to settle his rattled nerves anyway. He pointed at Astrid. "Just don't do it again," he warned.

She shook her head. "I promise."

Fishlegs was still feeling indignant, but turned to go back to what he was working on. He shot a few suspicious glares towards his cousin and supposed friend, in case they pulled another trick on him. He caught Astrid and Hiccup sharing a look between them, but didn't want to think more of it.

The trio continued to work solidly for the rest of the evening, interrupted only by Mrs Ingerman demanding they have a decent break for dinner. Which they were only too glad to comply with. Finally, by the end of the night, the room was cleaned out and ready for reconstruction.

Fishlegs wiped the sweat from his brow. "Thanks guys. It would have taken me weeks to do that by myself," he told them gratefully.

Hiccup and Astrid were feeling just as gritty as the bigger man. "No problems Fish. I'll be back tomorrow once the supplies arrive," said Hiccup, shaking his friend's hand.

"I'll be here too," piped up Astrid. "I'm enjoying this."

Fishlegs shot her a worried look. "You don't have to do that. Besides, you start work tomorrow."

Astrid frowned at him. "So? I can do both. I have plenty of energy. Plus I want to do this…to say thank you for all that you've done for me so far."

Fishlegs gave her a small smile, but knew his cousin well enough not to say anything against it. Once she put her mind to something, she always carried it through and woe betide the person who got in her way.

"Okay. I won't argue. Thank you, Astrid. I appreciate it. I'll see you tomorrow morning to pick you up for work, okay?"

"Sure, Fish. Looking forward to it," she said, smiling brightly.

Hiccup and Astrid left shortly afterwards, the ride reasonably quiet for the two tired individuals.

Astrid was thinking about what it was that Fishlegs was going to say earlier on. Hiccup had experienced a tragedy that had obviously deeply affected him. What was it? She wondered if Fishlegs had meant the death of Hiccup's parents, or if it was something more. She didn't know, but she wanted to find out. His books made her curious too. She knew authors often put themselves into their stories. She had only been half kidding when she had told him that morning she was researching him. Would she really find hints about the elusive author in his?

Hiccup was thinking about Astrid. He'd been very impressed watching her work so hard for her cousin today. She didn't have to do it, but she had forcefully volunteered herself, anyway. And she hadn't stopped or faltered once. He admired that kind of energy and the way she threw herself into helping somebody else. Her outer beauty was one thing, but her inner qualities were proving to be very attractive too.

He already thought of her as a friend, although the more he learned about her, the more he liked what he found. It was confusing. Hiccup yawned, covering his mouth with his hand. He was too tired to sort out his thoughts any further.

He pulled up in his driveway, turning off the engine.

Tomorrow was another day.


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning, Hiccup slept in a little later than usual. When he finally surfaced, Astrid had already left for work. He felt disappointed he had missed her. The house felt different without the energetic blonde, almost as if the life had been sucked out of it. Shuffling towards the kitchen, Hiccup prepared himself breakfast before sitting down. While he nursed his cup of coffee, he found himself thinking of his guest and wondering how she was managing on her first day. He knew he had chores to do, but focusing on what to do first became difficult when his thoughts kept drifting back to her.

Eventually though, he forced himself to start moving with his first priority being his chickens. After changing into warmer clothes, he gathered an empty bowl and headed outside to feed his girls.

After latching the coop door closed behind him, Hiccup shook the bucket of feed to attract the attention of all the fowls. He was about to fill the bird feeder, when from the corner of his eye he caught sight of two feline shapes edging towards the chook pen. Hiccup grinned. He had wondered how long it would take for the twins to come back and start annoying the chickens again. He decided to gain a few extra days for his girls.

The chickens were milling around his feet, clucking and flapping while they eagerly waited for their breakfast. Their attention was focused on the bucket that Hiccup held in his hands, so he dug in and pulled out a handful of feed. Making sure the birds were watching closely, he suddenly threw the feed in the direction of the wired walls of the coop.

The chickens squawked and flapped their wings loudly, racing each other towards the food. But to the two cats who were a little closer than they should have been, the rampaging feathered fowls gave off all the attributes of a full scale attack. The two quickly turned tail and bolted back to the safety of the house, the sound of Hiccup's laughter echoing in their dainty ears.

"What are you doing? Are you deliberately trying to terrify those poor cats?" came Astrid's voice suddenly.

Hiccup whipped around guiltily, only to find Astrid standing beside the corner of the house in her running gear. His heart beat a little faster, elated that he hadn't missed her after all.

"Oops! Busted!" said Hiccup, grinning awkwardly. His hand dislodged his beanie momentarily when he scratched his head. Yanking it back in place, he tried to placate the blonde woman staring at him, with her arms crossed and a bemused smile on her face while she waited for an explanation.

"They're fine. Just needed to keep them away from my girls," Hiccup offered with a sideways glance. He leaned over to continue feeding the hungry chickens in a much more socially acceptable manner.

"By scaring them half to death?" Astrid asked with a raised brow.

Hiccup turned towards her and waved one hand in the air while holding onto the food bucket with the other. A couple of hens followed his moving hand with hungry interest.

"Hey! Violence is the only thing that seems to work with those two...and I like having eggs for breakfast, thank you," he told her with mock indignation at having to justify himself to someone who still thought the twins were harmless. She gave him a knowing grin.

"Anyway, enough about my foibles...I thought you were supposed to be at work. Playing hooky on your first day, are you? That's a record," he said, tipping out the last remnants of chicken feed. The chickens rushed towards it. While the birds were distracted, Hiccup calmly collected the few eggs that were still warm in the nests.

Astrid sauntered closer. "No...if you must know, I have a late start for today. Fishlegs will be here in about half an hour, but I wanted to head out for a run to settle my nerves first."

She waited at the cage door while Hiccup unlatched it to let himself out.

"You? Nervous?" he chuckled, closing the gate behind him.

She huffed. "I'm more excited than nervous. I want to make a good impression on my boss, and prove I can do this job," she told him in a serious tone.

"You mean Joe?" asked Hiccup, walking towards the house. Astrid fell into step beside him. "He's very good at his job...and very proud of his clinics reputation. I don't think you could ask for a better teacher."

"Oh? Have you been one of his clients?" Astrid asked curiously.

Hiccup shot her a startled glance, realising he'd unintentionally said something he hadn't meant to reveal. "Er...yeah. Sore shoulder, sore knee...all the usual sort of stuff," he stammered, making Astrid observe him a little closer. He was nervously running his hand across the side of his neck in a manner she was starting to recognize.

He was hiding something.

She narrowed her eyes at him, the cogs in her mind already churning over. Why would he lie about the real reason he went to see a physiotherapist? To her, that didn't seem to make sense.

"Sure," she finally decided, giving him the benefit of the doubt. "Anyway, I'd better hit the shower before Fish gets here. I'll leave you to your flappers and your meow-ers."

Hiccup snorted and rolled his eyes. He watched her disappear inside the house. But if Astrid had turned around, she would have seen the look of intense worry radiating from him.

-oOo-

"Thank you Fishlegs, for taking me to work...for all of it actually. I wouldn't be here without you," said Astrid gratefully. They were in his car, on their way to town.

The big man blushed, and tapped the indicator.

"No problems Astrid," he mumbled in embarrassment.

Astrid was lost in thought for a moment, thinking of what she was likely to face for the next few weeks. She was excited about the learning opportunities available, all of which she considered highly valuable in her goal to become a physiotherapist. But another thought kept popping up.

"Fish...why would Hiccup need to see a physio?" she asked suddenly, prompting her cousin to glance wide eyed at her.

"Umm...why would you ask that?" he hedged, his hands already nervously fingering the collar of his shirt, his eyes darting in every direction except hers.

Astrid watched this display with narrowed eyes. "Because he was doing what you are doing right now," she said firmly, getting a little frustrated with all these diversionary tactics.

"I'm not doing anything, except driving," he answered a little too quickly, wiping the beads of sweat from his brow.

"Fishlegs," she said in a warning tone.

"Eep!" panicked Fishlegs, seeing her determined frown.

Astrid huffed in agitation. "What is wrong with you two? Why is that such a difficult question to answer?"

Fishlegs glanced briefly at her. Astrid could see the fear in his eyes, but there was also something else. An expression that she had seen before in the eyes of another. A deep sadness.

That look sent a chill down her spine. "What happened to him, Fishlegs? Is this what you were talking about yesterday?" she demanded to know. At her cousin's obvious reluctance, she began to beg instead. "Please tell me. I only want to help him. He's such a great guy, but something is hurting him."

Fishlegs hesitated. He could see that Astrid was sincere in her request to find out more. But he also knew he couldn't betray his friend. What was he to do? Hiccup needed help, even if the man himself didn't see it that way. And Astrid seemed to have reached his friend in a way nobody else had yet been able to do. Maybe she was a risk worth taking.

Fishlegs took a deep breath, hoping that what he was about to do was the right thing.

"Please don't let him know I told you," he began quickly. "And I can only tell you this. A few years ago, he lost his left leg below the knee."

Astrid was shocked at this news. It wasn't what she had been expecting, but it certainly explained why he limped on occasion…and why he had refused to take his shoe off when she had wanted to ice his knee after he had injured it.

"And he needed physio to help him walk again?" she guessed correctly.

Fishlegs nodded. "Joe spent a lot of time with Hiccup getting him back on his feet."

Astrid pursed her lips in thought. "But why wouldn't he tell me that? Surely he's still not hiding it after all this time? I mean, I _am_ going to be a physio too. I've already seen worse."

Fishlegs sighed heavily. "It's much more than that. Remember how I said he suffered from anxiety?"

Astrid nodded.

"To him, if he tells people about his missing leg, then he has to tell people _how_ he lost it…and he's yet to overcome that hurdle. Even the thought of it sends him into a panic attack."

Astrid hummed quietly to herself, processing this new information. Fishlegs pulled up at the curb, but the young woman wasn't ready to leave just yet.

"He hasn't had a panic attack while I've been there. Do you think he would feel comfortable talking with me about it?" she wanted to know.

Fishlegs shook his head rapidly. " _No!_ If he wants to tell you, then let him do it in his own time. Don't force him. Please, I beg of you…don't mention this to anybody, especially Hiccup. Not many people know about it. He suffered terribly at the time and I don't want him getting hurt again."

Astrid could see just how sincere Fishlegs was in his plea. He'd entrusted her with vital information about his very good friend, and asked her to guard it well. She could see it meant a lot to him. So she nodded.

He sat back relieved. "Thank you Astrid. Now, you'd better get to work before Joe wonders where you are," he suggested kindly.

Astrid smirked a little at her cousin. "Okay, I'm going. Thanks Fishlegs. See you this afternoon." She got out of the car.

Fishlegs waved as he drove off.

-oOo-

Astrid paused to take in a deep breath to calm her nerves, then pushed open the door. A small bell tingled, announcing her arrival to the few people already present. Joe looked up from behind the counter. He smiled warmly.

"Ah! Astrid. Buon giorno. So nice to see you here at last. Ready for work?" he asked kindly, his Italian accent heavy enough that Astrid had to listen carefully to make sure she heard him right.

Astrid smiled in relief at his welcome. Yes, she was _soo_ ready. The physio in front of her was slightly shorter than she was, but Astrid had to admit the middle aged man was quite handsome. He obviously kept himself very fit, judging by the display of his muscles under his tight fitting shirt.

"Yes, I'm keen to learn," she answered with a huge grin, bouncing on her toes in her eagerness.

Joe laughed at her excitement. "You had a relaxing weekend with your cousin first, si?" he asked.

Astrid raised a brow at his comment. Not that it worried her too much, but it seemed the gossip about her living with Hiccup, not Fishlegs, hadn't made it to Joe's ears yet. Hiccup had already warned her that Joe was an incorrigible gossip, almost worse than Mrs Jones.

She decided to leave the status quo.

"Si, I mean yes. We had a lovely weekend."

"Molto bene. Very good. Okay, let's go now," he said, waving her forward.

The blonde woman wore such an enthusiastic grin, she almost lit up the room as she stepped forward, ready to start work.

-oOo-

Astrid gave a hefty yawn, her jaw feeling as if it was about to unhinge. She finished off with a huge sigh, and snapped her mouth shut. It was already Thursday night, and it had been a very big week for everybody. She smiled to herself while she prepared for bed, thinking of all that had happened so far.

Her time at work had been amazing. Joe, her boss, had been fantastic. Despite his own work load, he had patiently spent time with her, making sure she felt comfortable within the work environment and overseeing her therapy with selected clients. Despite his constant presence, she hadn't felt like she was under scrutiny or being critically assessed.

His experience shone through quite heavily, especially when he had needed to correct her technique or offered an alternative to what she was doing. Already in the few days she had been working there, she could see there was a world of difference between the classroom education she had received and the real world application. She wasn't exactly new to practicing her craft in a genuine clinic, but Joe's tutelage had shown her she was now in the presence of a master. Her learning curve had been quite steep, and she felt so incredibly grateful to Fishlegs for wrangling this position for her.

Joe himself was a kindly man, but the twinkle in his eye did make her wonder. Whenever they worked together, Joe was thoroughly professional. However, Astrid had noted a few of the women that came in searching for the popular physio, had a look in their eye that had nothing to do with any pain they might be suffering. Mrs Jones words of advice to watch out for his hands would come back to her at those times, and she made sure to keep a safe distance between them...just in case.

Astrid slid in between her sheets, the wonderful sensation of relief from finally being able to relax her tired muscles almost palpable. Her head hit the pillow and she nestled in comfortably, a smile lingering on her lips as she thought about another set of hands she wouldn't mind on her shoulders.

-oOo-

Hiccup yawned, struggling to stay upright on the side of his bed while he took off his prosthetic. He sleepily patted Toothless who was already stretched out on the foot of his bed, only the collie's long tail moving.

"Yeah, I don't blame you," Hiccup muttered sleepily, his lip twitching slightly at his dog's flat out refusal to budge. Even though Hiccup was only twenty-nine, he was finding that his body took a little longer than it did ten years ago, to bounce back after prolonged activity. And there had been plenty of activity this week.

For the last four days, he had gone over to the Ingerman's house to spend a few hours checking through building supplies and doing what he could to progress the renovations while Astrid and Fishlegs were both at work. Then in the evenings, the three of them had worked steadily together to finish the job. They only stopped when Mrs Ingerman demanded they eat the food she had prepared for them. By the time he and Astrid had rolled into their own driveway late at night, both had only enough energy to shower and hit their beds before falling unconscious till the morning.

To Hiccup's amusement, Astrid would bounce out of bed in the morning, full of energy and enthusiasm while Hiccup found himself taking an extra cup of hot coffee to prop himself up. Even after a full day's work at the physio, she was still keen to plow straight through a few more hours renovating...all to help out her cousin. Hiccup was impressed with her commitment and ethics.

However, her other actions were causing him some concern and he wasn't quite sure what to make of it. It had started innocently enough. In the close confines of the room they were rebuilding, it was inevitable that they would brush shoulders or touch hands. Embarrassingly, each time it happened he would jump slightly then blush profusely. It certainly didn't help that she was wearing a singlet top over her figure hugging workout clothes, with her bare shoulders revealed in all their sweaty glory right beside him.

All of that was bad enough, but then it seemed she started to deliberately find every opportunity and excuse to bump into him, prod him or to drape her arm across his shoulders. He noticed that Fishlegs was on the receiving end of similar treatment, so he could have felt that was just Astrid being Astrid. Except that along with those seemingly innocuous touches, came the bright eyed and mischievous glances she shot in his direction on a regular basis.

He probably should be discouraging it, but Hiccup found he didn't want to. The friendly touch of another human being had been sorely missing in his life, and he was keen to soak it up. It lit a spark of hope deep in that pit of darkness that he called his life, one he didn't want to extinguish just yet. Even if he knew he should.

Despite his inner turmoil over it all, he had to admit it felt nice having someone like Astrid acting so casual around him. Her actions seemed to suggest that she was rather fond of him, but Hiccup knew it was all an illusion. If she only knew how much of a broken man he was, he knew the beautiful blonde would be sprinting in the other direction in complete horror.

Hiccup couldn't fight the huge yawn that came from deep within his chest, reminding him it was time for bed if he ever expected to crawl out of it early enough to see Astrid off in the morning. He didn't know why he did it, she was more than capable of organizing herself. Especially as Fishlegs was the one who drove her to work. But it felt good to be part of her routine. It was…homely…and comforting. He couldn't really explain it, except that it made him feel…normal.

Laying back with his hands behind his head, Hiccup closed his weary eyes and waited to drift off into oblivion. His problems would just have to wait till tomorrow.

-oOo-

About a half hour later, Hiccup was still awake. Despite his exhaustion, he couldn't sleep due to the unusually warm weather. Lying flat on his back with arms spread wide, he had already undone the buttons on his pyjama top, hoping to invite some of the lingering night air to cool down his heated skin.

Hiccup closed his eyes, wanting desperately to sleep, but the increase in temperature had also seemed to spur an increase in nocturnal activity amongst his crazy felines. They were playing a great game of 'tag', gallivanting loudly across the wooden floors throughout the house, then barraging into his room through the open door, and diving headlong into an empty cardboard box he had left on the floor. The twins were making a tremendous racket that seemed inconsistent with their small stature, as they pranced around each other, then raced back out of the room to start their route all over again.

Toothless was lying on the end of Hiccup's double bed, snorting in disgust at the twins antics. Hiccup nudged the collie with his toe. Toothless snapped his head up.

"Can't you do something about that?" Hiccup complained. But Toothless only snuffed, then laid his head across his front paws again.

Hiccup groaned and pulled the pillow out from under his head and shoved it over his face instead, hoping to drown out the insistent noise. Unfortunately, it had no effect except to make him feel hotter and unable to breathe.

The cats came back in, and Hiccup heaved a huge exasperated sigh as they rattled around the box, scraping it loudly over the polished floor boards. He debated whether he should push Toothless off the bed to go deal with the delinquent cats, or throw his pillow at them instead. It seemed easier to toss the cushion, so he pegged it in the general direction of where the cavorting Siamese were play-fighting.

He knew it had missed when he heard the pillow bouncing off his dresser, making it rattle, and slide out into the hallway.

He let his arms drop dejectedly onto the bed. "Just great. Not only did I miss, now I have no pillow," he grumbled to himself.

After about ten seconds of wallowing in self-pity, Hiccup decided he had better get up and retrieve it. If he had to listen to that commotion all night, he might as well do it in comfort.

Hiccup gave a groan as he sat up on the side of the bed. Then hesitated. Normally he would grab the crutch beside his bed for brief nocturnal outings, but with Astrid in the house he didn't want to run the risk of her seeing him and asking questions. So he paused to attach his leg. Finally, he stood up and shuffled haphazardly into the hallway. Bending over to scoop up his pillow, he glanced sideways to notice a pair of long, lightly tanned legs standing in front of him. He followed them upwards to see Astrid, dressed only in a long sleeved pyjama top which ended at the top of her thighs. She was blinking at him sleepily, her long blonde hair all mussed up across her shoulders.

"Are we under attack? It sounded like a herd of elephants racing through here?" she asked with a yawn, reaching up to slowly rub the sleep out of one eye. The action caused her shirt to lift dangerously higher, exposing more leg than Hiccup thought was legal.

His breath hitched, and he hastily averted his eyes from the sight. He cleared his throat nervously.

"Er...no. Just the usual cat stampede," he stuttered.

Astrid blinked slowly. "Oh… right."

Hiccup stood up straight, and Astrid noted with interest his exposed chest through the gaping flannel top, over the long pyjama pants he wore. Her eyes lit up at the sight, delighted to see the obviously toned shape of his chest and abdomen underneath.

It was dark enough that Hiccup didn't notice her reaction, and he was ignorant to his state of undress, something that Astrid was grateful for as she greedily drank in as much of him while she could in the dim light.

By this time, Toothless had finally jumped off the bed, and gone into 'herding' mode, attempting to stare the cats down so he could round them up. The cats backed away from him and tried to escape, but before they could, Hiccup turned and scooped them up.

He faced Astrid. "Umm, sorry about that," he mumbled in embarrassment. Whistling to the collie, he turned and took all three animals with him into his bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Astrid stared at where he had gone for a few moments more before shrugging. She turned and shuffled back to her own room.

Hiccup tossed the naughty cats and his pillow onto the bed, then sat down on the edge. After removing his leg, he laid back and tried to relax enough to enter the land of nod once more, so he didn't have to relive the image of long legs burned into his brain. Unfortunately for Hiccup, it was not going to be that easy.

The twins were objecting to being locked in, and were letting him know their displeasure by meowing loudly and scratching at the door. They were relentless, pacing between the door and the screened window frame, making sure Hiccup heard every decibel of their message...they wanted out.

Hiccup tried to ignore them, hoping they would settle down. But in the end, he had to give up when even Toothless put his paws over his ears. Hiccup opened the door so the cats could escape to the rest of the house as per their usual custom.

He fell back into his bed, hoping he hadn't made an even bigger mistake. Thankfully however, they stayed quiet after that, and Hiccup was able to finally fall asleep. But not before feeling guilty about exposing Astrid to the incredibly noisy phenomenon that was the twins.

The next morning when Astrid left her bedroom, she found a pair of ear plugs hanging from her door knob.

* * *

 **All I can say is CATS! (I love 'em!)**


	11. Chapter 11

"That was a lovely meal, Hiccup. Thank you," said Fishlegs appreciatively to his friend.

Hiccup nodded, standing up to help Astrid collect the dirty dishes. "No problems, Fish. I'm not up to your mum's standards, but I think I do alright."

Astrid smirked while Fishlegs snorted, "Don't sell yourself short, Hiccup. It was a good meal."

Astrid gave a wide grin, "I agree. I could happily live off your food forever. I'd even do the washing up every night for it."

Hiccup started slightly at her words, before regarding her with a searching look. But she was already filling the sink with hot, sudsy water and didn't notice his eyes on her.

Astrid was still busy in the sink when she asked casually, "So if we're not working tonight, what are we going to do instead?"

Hiccup picked up the tea towel to dry the first washed plates. "I thought you would want to relax. It's been a big week for you with your job _and_ working on the renovations."

Astrid flashed a cheeky grin at him, and he couldn't help but give a slight smirk of his own in return. Fishlegs only snorted, knowing exactly how energetic his cousin could be.

"Nah...I'm used to moving a lot. I get bored otherwise."

Fishlegs rolled his eyes. "You're just like the Eveready bunny...you keep going and going and going..."

Astrid laughed.

Hiccup raised a brow. "Seriously? You're not tired?" he asked curiously. He knew he was feeling the strain across his shoulders. A night on the couch sounded good to him.

"Nope...hey, I know...Fish, what kind of night life is there in Berk? Maybe we could go out?"

He shrugged. "Not much. But there is a dance down at the Community Hall every Friday night."

Astrid brightened up straight away. "Can we go? I love to dance!"

Fishlegs shook his head apologetically. "I'm sorry, Astrid. I promised mum we'd watch her favourite movie together tonight. She's been missing out, what with us creating havoc every evening."

"Oh," said Astrid, disappointed. But she was not ready to give up yet. She turned to Hiccup.

"What about you? Will you come to the dance with me?" she asked, hope shining in her eyes.

Hiccup shook his head as well. "I don't dance. But you can take the truck if you want," he offered.

Astrid gave an exaggerated sigh. "I don't think I could operate that thing in the dark. I need you for that. Please? Will you take me?" she begged, giving him her best pout and blinking at him in such a way that he felt awful for having to refuse her.

"Come on, Hiccup. It's only one dance. You haven't been to town in ages," said Fishlegs, siding with this cousin, pleased to find an excuse to get his friend out of the house.

"Yeah...see Hiccup? Even Fishlegs thinks you should come. Please?" Astrid asked again.

Hiccup was not keen at all, but watching her beg made something melt in his chest. He couldn't bear to see her disappointed if he said no. Reluctantly he agreed.

"Okay, I'll take you."

Astrid beamed with happiness. "Thank you!" she said excitedly, practically leaping on him as she gave him a tight hug. It was over in moments, but Hiccup was taken aback at the action.

Astrid was excited. While she was keen to go dancing and burn off some of the extra energy she seemed to have, she also wanted to do everything she could to get under his skin. She wanted him to see her as someone worth his interest. This dance was a great opportunity to do just that.

Hiccup knew he was in trouble. He could already see it in the blatantly flirtatious look she flashed at him, her brilliant smile tugging on the locked door in his chest. But he couldn't bring himself to put a stop to any of this...whatever it was. Somewhere, somehow, her happiness had begun to matter. Even if it was at a cost to him.

"I had better get going then," said Fishlegs, oblivious to all the undercurrents going on right under his nose. "You'll need to get ready."

Astrid loved her cousin, but she nearly shoved him out the door in her eagerness. Waving goodbye to the bigger man, she closed the door firmly on his disappearing tail lights.

Hiccup turned to Astrid. "I suppose I have to take an early shower," he grumbled, still not sold on this dancing idea.

Astrid perked up at his words, seeing her opportunity for a little revenge.

"Oh no, you don't," she told him with a devious grin that let Hiccup know she had a little payback on her mind. "I need all the time I can to get ready. You know how it is with girls...I need to wash my hair, curl my lashes, put the rollers in..."

Hiccup tried to hide a snort at the image of Astrid in rollers. Toothless bumped his hand, and Hiccup absently stroked his head.

"...paint my nails...you know how it is being a woman," she finished airily, raising a brow and daring him to say something.

Hiccup leaned over to mutter into Toothless ear. "Personally, I've never been a woman, so I wouldn't know."

Astrid gave such a delightfully wide grin at his words, that it took his breath away for a moment. While he was distracted, Astrid took the opportunity to push past him and grab her things from her room before heading towards the shower. She knocked on the wall of the living room, repeating his action from the previous week, and intending to let him know she had taken up his challenge.

Astrid swung off the bathroom door frame and practically danced into the shower room. Her words were laced with all the gloating of a woman who knew she had won.

"Make yourself comfortable. This could take a while," she said loudly through the half opened door, closing it with a sold click before he even had a chance at a rebuttal.

Hiccup could only shake his head with a wry grin, knowing he'd been beaten. She may have won this round, but there would be many other opportunities. The problem was, Hiccup was torn between two camps.

He knew she was flirting with him...he'd seen the wanton look in her eyes when she thought he couldn't see her. But he also knew this was a situation he couldn't encourage. There was no future for either of them...not together at least. He reminded himself he was ten years older than she was...a girl still in her teens. He couldn't allow her to think that there was a possibility for any kind of romantic connection. It was a train of thought he needed to squash. But there was a problem with all that sensibleness...he was finding it hard to do.

She was young, yes, oh so fresh and bright. She had brought so much joy to him in the short time they'd been together already. It pained him to realise that he looked forward to spending time with her. It was so invigorating to have a sparkle in his life, that he immediately started to worry about what it was going to be like when she left.

Hiccup shook his head to dismiss those ideas out of his head. He needed to remember she was his guest for only a short time. Then she would leave and he could go back to his regular routine. But the idea made him shudder.

When had he become such a staid old man? When did routine become more important than facing a challenge, finding a solution and living a life worth living? Hiccup stood still, shocked at the revelation. He'd become an old man at the age of twenty nine without even realising it. And it was only when a shapely young blonde woman came bursting into his life like a breath of fresh air, that he had been forced to sit up and take notice.

Hiccup frowned at the unpleasant image that had been presented to him. Yet, despite this shift in perspective, he still fought against letting Astrid under his skin. He had led a subdued life for a reason...one he was too afraid to confront. Hiccup closed his eyes in despair. It didn't matter which way he turned from here...it was all going to lead to disappointment and pain.

True to her word, Astrid had taken her time preparing herself. But Hiccup had barely noticed, sitting on the couch with Toothless head in his lap and the two cats curled either side of him, brooding over all the possibilities for things to go wrong.

"Hiccup? You okay?" asked Astrid quietly. She had come out to tease him, but had been disturbed instead to find him lost so deep in thought.

He lifted his head and gave a distracted smile. "Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm good," he said before his eyes finally connected with his brain. "Wow! You look nice," he told her, half dazzled by her appearance. She wore a short flared skirt with warm leggings on underneath, along with a red shirt that clung tightly to her curves. Her blonde hair was tied up in her signature braid and rested over her shoulder. A small amount of makeup accentuated her blue eyes and high cheeks, ensuring she looked more devastatingly beautiful than usual.

"Thank you," she said brightly. "You don't."

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Time to shower. Won't be long. You know how it is with men. A scrape over the cheeks and a splash of aftershave and we're done," he told her with his signature sarcasm.

"Yeah, sure. I'll time you," she suggested with a half grin.

But when he came out fresh from the shower dressed in slacks and his shirt tucked in neatly, she had to take back her words. The change of outfit accentuated his slender form and she had to remind herself to close her mouth so she wouldn't drool. His beanie was off, allowing those delicious auburn strands to move freely and Astrid nearly had to sit on her own hands to prevent herself from reaching up and dragging her fingers through them. She could smell his aftershave and decided that was her new favourite scent. After Hiccup himself, of course.

She openly ogled him, much to his dismay. He lowered his gaze, the red colouring already creeping up his neck.

"Nice, Hiccup. You look better than me," she told him with an appreciative smile.

"I doubt that," he said straight away. "Shall we?" He indicated the way forward and Astrid moved ahead of him, both shrugging on their jackets before opening the back door.

Both had the same thought as they secretly eyed off the other. Tonight was going to be exquisite torture.

-oOo-

It started with the ticket seller when Hiccup refused to allow Astrid to purchase her own ticket. The young woman at the desk gasped when she recognized who she was selling tickets to, her star struck manner causing Astrid to raise a brow and Hiccup to blush.

"Ohh, Mr Haddock. Can I have your autograph please?" she asked breathlessly, somehow procuring a copy of his latest novel from a bag beside her feet. She held it out expectantly.

"Oh!" said Hiccup, startled at the girl's actions. He hesitated only a moment, but when she shoved a pen in his direction, he smiled warmly at her. Taking the book and the pen, he flipped it open to the inside cover.

"Amber...isn't it?" he asked, his pen poised. Astrid thought the girl was about to faint dead away when he said her name. She nodded eagerly. Hiccup signed the book and handed it back.

"Thank you. I hope you have a nice night," Amber sighed dreamily, hugging the book to her chest.

After Hiccup and Astrid had checked in their coats, Astrid asked him with an amused grin, "Does that happen often?"

He blushed and ducked his head. "Yeah...sometimes," he admitted reluctantly. "Part of the reason I don't like coming to town...or dances."

Astrid felt a rush of warmth for him, that he chose to escort her to the dance to satisfy her whims despite his own discomfort. She placed her hand on his arm. "Thank you, Hiccup. I appreciate you doing this for me. But we'll have fun tonight. You'll see."

He gave a diffident half smile and placed his hand over her own for a brief moment. "As long as you enjoy yourself, that's all I ask for."

She eyed him curiously, watching him as they proceeded into the room. But she was quickly distracted by the loud whispers that struck up as soon as they entered. Most of the nearby faces in the large room suddenly turned in their direction, or more accurately...in his direction.

Astrid's attention was momentarily diverted by the sight of Mrs Jones and her husband twirling with great enthusiasm on the dance floor. She turned her face to point them out to Hiccup...only to find several excited and determined women rushing towards an overwhelmed Hiccup. Astrid soon found herself on the outer, watching with a mixture of amusement and annoyance as the women vied with each other to get closer to the handsome bachelor, their faces shining with awe and hero worship.

Hiccup glanced towards Astrid, his eyes pleading with her for help. She frowned at the women fawning over the reclusive author while Hiccup tried politely to extricate himself. She was about to charge into the fray, ready to rescue her host, when she was beaten to it.

"Ladies! Ladies! Let the poor man be...he doesn't need you shameless hussys hanging off him. Shoo!" said Mrs Jones loudly, pushing through the group and flapping her hands at them. "Betty...go back to your husband," she admonished one of them, a younger red-haired woman who promptly scowled at the plump shopkeeper and stalked off.

"Thank you Mrs Jones," said Hiccup in relief.

The motherly woman smiled at him with a twinkle in her eye. "No problem, my dear. So tell me...to what do we owe the pleasure of your company tonight at our humble dance?"

Hiccup blushed, but lifted his chin anyway. "Astrid wanted to go out somewhere. Fish told us to come here," he answered.

Astrid was watching the interaction between Hiccup and Mrs Jones closely. There was obviously much more history between them then simply shopkeeper and customer.

"And you offered to bring her?" Mrs Jones asked with a raised brow and a barely contained smirk.

Hiccup shrugged. "Actually no. But she refused to drive my truck."

Mrs Jones let out a full laugh. "I don't blame her," she replied, still chuckling.

Hiccup pretended to frown while Astrid snorted.

The motherly woman gave Astrid a broad wink, then pointedly asked him, "So now that you're here, why are you not yet dancing with the prettiest girl in Berk?"

Hiccup immediately blushed while Astrid grinned in delight. She turned to him expectantly, knowing this would torture him, "Yeah...how come?"

He glanced up at her and Astrid's grin lessened when she saw the air of sadness he had once again assumed like a cloak.

"I'm sorry Astrid, but I can't dance. But as the 'prettiest woman' in all of Berk, it won't take you long to find someone who can."

He said it all so softly while those sad eyes kept looking directly at her. Astrid hesitated, unsure how to react. When he repeated Mrs Jones words, she couldn't be certain if he was saying it in jest or out of sincerity. Although the overwhelming feeling was that he was using the words to berate himself for some reason.

Mrs Jones had obviously picked up on this too, for she took hold of Astrid's elbow to steer her towards the dance floor, tossing instructions over her shoulder towards her husband. "Johnny, my love...why don't you escort our famous celebrity towards the refreshments table and keep his harem in line, while I help this beautiful young woman find the dance floor?"

Hiccup's lip twitched up slightly while Johnny, a bespectacled older man with a serious paunch and thinning hair, gave a small bow.

"Your wish is my command," Johnny said to his wife solemnly, with a conspiring wriggle of his eyebrows towards Astrid.

"Oh, go on with you," said Mrs Jones promptly with a grin, waving him on with her hands while stepping determinedly away with her young charge.

Astrid had to muffle a snigger at the display. It was obvious that the older couple loved each other dearly from the way their eyes lingered over each other, and the affectionate smiles that never left their lips.

They had only taken a few steps when Mrs Jones told Astrid, "My Johnny will look after Hiccup while you and I get some action on the dance floor."

Astrid glanced towards Hiccup, where he was being flanked by the older man. "Who were those women anyway?" she wanted to know.

The matronly woman laughed. "They're his fans...all wanting a piece of Berk's famous celebrity."

Astrid suddenly felt a little insecure at this information, thinking of all those more obviously mature...and beautiful... women, throwing themselves at him.

"I'm sure he must have had lots of girlfriends, then," she said dismally.

Mrs Jones shook her head. "No. He hasn't had a girlfriend for a number of years. There were certainly those who tried...including some very persistent types...but none have made it past his front door."

The older woman gave Astrid a nudge, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "Not like you, hey? You get to sleep in the same house and wake up every morning with him," she teased, before shuffling in closer conspirately, woman to woman.

"So what's he like under all those thick sweaters?"

Astrid's cheeks turned red, immediately thinking of the previous night when Hiccup had accidentally exposed himself to her.

"I don't know. He wears them to bed too," she murmured, casting a quick glance back towards the man under question.

Mrs Jones laughed, then tapped the side of her nose knowingly. "Secrets love...I can keep them too."

Astrid only shuffled uncomfortably.

"So…how is our reclusive author?" she asked, whipping Astrid onto the dance floor and surprising the younger woman with how light on her feet she was. "Is he treating you right?"

Astrid smiled softly. "He's been wonderful. He's so kind and generous…and he has a sarcastic streak a mile long," she giggled.

"Sounds like our Hiccup, alright," laughed Mrs Jones proudly, twirling the younger woman very efficiently. "He's a one-of-a-kind man. It's going to take a special girl to crack open that hard shell of his. I only hope his heart doesn't get broken."

Mrs Jones said the last part so seriously that it startled Astrid and she missed a step. The older woman gave her a pointed look for a fleeting moment, before her laughter rang out once more and she spun Astrid out. The young blonde was momentarily disorientated and found herself slamming into another body.

"Oof!"

"I'm so sorry," she began to say, finding herself staring into the eyes of a young man with black hair and a stocky, muscular build.

The stranger tried to give her an alluring smile. "That's okay. I know you couldn't help falling for me," he said, flirting outrageously with her.

Astrid rolled her eyes and was about to turn back to Mrs Jones, when he stuck out his hand to her.

"May I have this dance?"

Astrid shot a quick glance towards Mrs Jones, but found the older woman laughingly shooing her towards the newcomer.

"Go on love. Have some fun. These old bones of mine need to rest now, anyway," she said kindly.

Astrid hesitated, glancing towards Hiccup who was sitting at a table with a drink in his hand and Mr Jones beside him. He was watching her so she gave him her brightest smile. He grinned in return, and gave her a small nod.

Astrid took in a deep breath, turning back to the man in front of her.

"I'd be delighted."

-oOo-

Hiccup sat at a table, his foot tapping to the music. He couldn't help but watch as Astrid sparkled and twirled on the dance floor with Mrs Jones. He could see a lot of young men also following the bright young woman with their eyes, so wasn't surprised when Snotlout Jorgensen, the son of Spitelout, the mayor of Berk, approached her. But he couldn't prevent the twinge of jealousy he felt as he watched the twenty-one year old muscular man swagger over to the lithe young woman.

That twinge tightened a little more, when Snotlout obviously asked her for a dance. Astrid suddenly swung her brilliant blue gaze in Hiccup's direction. When she caught him watching them, she sent him her brightest grin and Hiccup found himself smiling in return.

Astrid and Snotlout twirled past, and Hiccup definitely noticed how well the two young people danced together on the floor. He was mesmerized by her, glad that she seemed to be enjoying herself. That was why he had agreed to bring her after all. The thought entered his mind that the two dancers looked like a great match. They moved together quite well, not clashing at all.

If Hiccup was lucky...or unlucky...depending on how he looked at it...maybe the two would hit it off and the blonde bombshell would soon forget about him. Snotlout was a good man, even if he was a little dim and narcissistic. Nothing Astrid couldn't handle, though.

He continued to watch her as she danced amongst the crowd, absentmindedly moving his foot to the beat of the music. She suddenly laughed gaily, the sound as lyrical as the high energy song that was being played. Hiccup was so focused on her, that he didn't notice Mrs Jones until the plump woman was almost in front of him.

Standing before him, she made sure she had his attention before glancing pointedly at his tapping foot.

"So...why are you over here like a wallflower, instead of showing that fine young woman how you can dance?"

Hiccup flushed, sitting up straighter and planting his two feet firmly against the floorboards.

"You know I can't dance," he told her with a look she understood quite clearly.

Mrs Jones wasn't having any of it. "I know you _can_ dance…but have chosen not to," she told him firmly, her gaze challenging him to deny it.

He shrugged half-heartedly and turned his face away, pretending to find something on the opposite side of the room very interesting. Mrs Jones was no fool…she could see the sadness hidden in the depths of his green eyes. She patted his wrist.

"I know your secrets, love," she told him gently. "I see the place you've buried yourself so deeply into." Briefly flicking her chin towards the young woman gliding happily across the dance floor, she continued.

"I also see that Astrid has managed to bring you further out of your shell than even Fishlegs could. Why don't you take this chance…and let her help you heal. It's time to move on, Hiccup."

The matronly woman's words were meant to be kind, but Hiccup had to close his eyes against the sudden shaft of pain that pierced him.

"I don't want to move on…I don't ever want to forget," he told her in a low, strained voice.

Mrs Jones expression softened in sympathy. "Love…I don't want you to forget. Nobody will ever forget. But do you think they would want you to live like this? You're not living, Hiccup…you're existing."

Hiccup shivered at her blunt words, knowing they were true. Blinking, his vision fell on a certain blonde haired woman who gave him a small wave and a smile before she was whizzed past by her dance partner. He continued to watch her glide gracefully across the floorboards, her joyful laughter sounding in his ears.

Mrs Jones followed his gaze, her eyes narrowing thoughtfully.

"So much energy," she sighed dramatically, before she gave him a calculating side glance. "I'm sure she has plenty to share."

He raised his brows at her, knowing what the shopkeeper was doing. Mrs Jones patted his arm in a motherly fashion.

"Just think about it…please? I worry about you…and so do many others. We'd love to see you happy again. You deserve a second chance," she told him earnestly, placing a caring hand briefly on his shoulder before turning to leave him to his thoughts.

Hiccup watched the shopkeeper walk over to her husband, his features pulled tight in a haunted expression. Happy? Maybe once upon a time…just like in fairy tales. Those impossible stories told to children so they could float elusively in the back of minds far too young to know the harshness of reality. Well, he was no child.

He turned to stare at Astrid again, watching momentarily as she and Snotlout performed a dip.

Happy with Astrid? Completely absurd.

-oOo-

The night progressed and Hiccup remained at his table, only shifting to refill his glass so it didn't look too obvious that he was staring at Astrid the entire time. Mrs Jones kept giving him pointed looks every time she and her husband swung past him, to the point where he began to lower his eyes to the floor anytime he saw them coming round.

It wasn't as if he was sitting there like some kind of aloof pervert the whole night. Plenty of people he knew found their way to his table for polite conversation. A few giggly fans came over as well, but they soon scattered when either Mr or Mrs Jones started stomping towards them in a determined fashion. Not that he minded too much. They were all mostly respectful. Mostly.

He did see a certain blonde flashing her blue eyes towards him a lot more often on those occasions, though. It made him feel warm on the inside but also dismayed. He had hoped she would be distracted enough to find somebody else to interest her instead. Even if his conflicted emotions really hoped she didn't.

He groaned at his inner turmoil, startling the young woman who had been gushing over him. "Sorry," he immediately apologized. "Sore shoulder," he lied, moving it for her benefit. She sympathised with him, but he wasn't listening, preferring to search out another young woman instead.

-oOo-

Astrid puffed out her cheeks, and huffed out a deep lungful of air. The band had stopped to take a break and she was grateful for the reprieve. Snotlout was really quite a good dancer…but that had been overshadowed by his constant compulsion to flirt outrageously with her, or to constantly brag about himself. His behaviour had started to grate on her nerves. So the first excuse she had, she took it, leaving him in favour of searching out Hiccup.

He saw her coming, and he was waiting with a cool glass of punch. She smiled as she sauntered closer to him. He held out the glass to her, sipping his own.

"For me?" she asked, struck by his thoughtfulness.

Hiccup nodded. "Looked like thirsty work out there. Thought you might need some refreshments," he said simply.

She held up the coloured liquid. "Any alcohol in here?' she asked, with a raised brow.

He shook his head and held up his own glass. "If there was, you might have to drive us both home."

"Or we'd have to sleep in the tray till both of us were sober," she replied with a grin. "I don't fancy the idea of driving your truck in the dark."

"Why? What's wrong with my truck?" he asked, the glint in his eye suggesting a challenge if she dared say anything against his beloved vehicle.

She laughed. "It's obviously a one-man truck. It would take me years to work out how to drive that old thing," she said boldly.

"Hey! It's a classic," he said, objecting to her dig at his ute.

"Yeah, a classic example of when your truck is well past it's use by date," she snorted. "What model is it anyway?"

"Er...it's a hybrid," he told her, sipping his drink so he could avoid her gaze.

"A hybrid? Are you trying to tell me that machine is part engine, part electrical?" she asked, sure she must have completely missed something somewhere if that was the case.

"No...it's a 100% gas guzzler," he admitted sheepishly.

"Then what do you mean by hybrid?" she asked, raising a brow at him.

"You know...it's part of this, and part of that...a hybrid," he said sheepishly.

Astrid laughed. "Hiccup, you are too much sometimes. A hybrid indeed." She shook her head in disbelief at his misguided efforts to defend his truck. "I think the word you are looking for is Frankenstein."

"Hey! She may not be pretty, but underneath, there's an engine of gold," he grinned back..

"Bit like you, hey? I mean the heart of gold bit, not the 'not pretty'. You're obviously very pretty...I mean handsome," she spluttered out, totally embarrassing herself.

He coughed to cover over her comments, while Astrid blushed.

"Soo...you seem to be having fun out there tonight?" he offered, shuffling on his feet while he tried another stream of conversation to cover his chagrin.

"Um, yeah. Snotlout's a pretty clever dancer. Light on his feet," she said, thankful for the chance to redeem herself.

Hiccup nodded and smiled, although there was an obvious strain around the corners of his eyes. "You two look good together," he said soberly.

"Me and Snotlout? Are you ki..." she started to say, then stopped. The way he made that comment, caused Astrid to stop and think. A plan began to form in her mind, and she gave a small slow smile to herself.

"Um...yeah. We danced really well together, and he's so smooth on his feet. I mean, where else would I find a dancer like him?"

She could see his face had fallen a little. ' _Bingo_ ', she said to herself.

"I mean... do you know anybody? Where else am I going to find a dancer like him?" she said, glancing at him sideways.

Hiccup seemed to think about this. "Mrs Jones seems to be an expert on the dance floor," he told her in a serious tone.

Astrid gave him an incredulous stare. "Mrs Jones? I think she would rather trip the light fantastic with her husband."

She gave him a sly, sideways glance. "Anybody else?" she asked, biting her tongue while she watched him trying to keep his expression neutral, but failing miserably. She was excited to see that he was actually affected by her potential choice in partner, but still a little disappointed that he hadn't put himself forward as a candidate. What was it going to take to make him crack?

She didn't know, but the small signs were encouraging to her eager eye. She vowed to keep on doing all she could until he looked at her as a woman…a _desirable_ woman.

Hiccup shook his head miserably at her question, and Astrid huffed silently in frustration. She looked over in time to see Snotlout approaching them, the band having returned to the stage. She had to refrain from rolling her eyes at his smug expression, the black haired lad obviously thinking she was putty in his hands.

Flicking a last glance towards her silent companion, she forced herself to smile politely as she accepted Snotlout's invitation to the dance floor once more. The two were soon twirling and rocking to the music.

Astrid had to remind herself, this _was_ where she had asked to be earlier that afternoon...even though she had hoped to be in the arms of a much taller, and leaner man by now. She signed to herself. In the meantime, this guy would just have to do.

* * *

 **Things are beginning to heat up! Love Mrs Jones XD**


	12. Chapter 12

Hiccup stood up from his table. His gaze was determined as he began to stroll purposely through the crowd to where Astrid and Snotlout were dancing enthusiastically. They didn't notice him, until he tapped on Snotlout's shoulder. The younger man stepped back from Astrid, his brows drawn in confusion as he turned to see who had interrupted his dance with the hot blonde girl.

Hiccup didn't even glance in the other man's direction, his eyes immediately connected to Astrid's. She seemed to be sparkling, her cheeks tinged with pink from the exercise. Her smile widened a little at the sight of him.

"I'm very sorry to interrupt…but would you care for a dance?" Hiccup asked her formally, stretching his hand out to her with the palm up.

Astrid bit her lip in a show of momentary shyness, but her grin stretched wider. She bowed ever so slightly, taking hold of his warm hand with her own.

"I'd be delighted," she replied, completely ignoring the spluttering Snotlout beside her.

Hiccup pulled her gently into his arms, holding her close. His eyes never left hers while he expertly led her around the dance floor, astonishing her with how well he could move.

"I didn't know you had it in you," she told him breathlessly, after he had spun her in a pirouette and drawn her body tight to his.

Hiccup gave a secretive smile. "I'm a man of many talents, Miss Hofferson," he told her, with the air of a man of mystery.

She fluttered her eyelashes at him in a coy and flirtatious manner. "I'd love to find out more," she replied huskily.

"And I'd love to let you," he murmured, his hand already threading its way to the back of her head, his lips lowering to hers.

Astrid gave a gentle sigh, her lips parting slightly and her eyes closed as she waited for him. Their lips were about to touch, when…..

"Arghhhh!" Hiccup sat up in bed with a gasp, breathing heavily.

Wildly, he searched the room around him, momentarily disorientated. It was dark, but it didn't take long for him to realise he was in his own room. The dance had finished hours ago, and he'd driven Astrid back home. They'd said a demure 'good night', then left for their separate rooms.

Hiccup ran his hands through his hair, his breath still ragged. What was going on with him? It felt like Frank had taken over his mind, doing things Hiccup would never dare to do. And with Astrid of all people. Sure, she was beautiful, Hiccup had to admit that. But she was Fishleg's cousin, for crying out loud. That made her practically family.

Hiccup groaned and flopped backwards to his pillow, his eyes wide open. He knew this had been a bad idea, having her here. If he could, he would shuffle her straight back to the people who should be looking after her. But Fishleg's spare room wasn't ready yet, so he knew that was impossible for another few days or so. Desperately, he thought of anybody else who might take her in. Unfortunately, his mind came up blank. Plus, he knew Fishlegs and his mum would take a dim view of him shunting Astrid off to the first available person. Fishlegs had come to him for a reason. He trusted Hiccup. 'Wrong move', Hiccup decided grimly.

Rolling over, he grabbed the pillow and shoved it over his head, somehow hoping it would smother out the visions in his mind. Unfortunately it didn't, and it was a long time before he finally fell asleep, his dreams full of Astrid twirling and dancing…just for him.

-oOo-

The next morning was Saturday. Hiccup woke up late feeling grumpy and dishevelled. He shoved his beanie over his locks and stood up. Still in his flannel pyjamas, he shuffled towards the kitchen in search of coffee… strong coffee. In his sleep deprived haze he failed to notice anything different till he had wandered in through the kitchen door.

Astrid popped out in front of him. "Good morning!" she said cheerily, waving at him.

"Ahhh!" yelled Hiccup, jerking his arm across his chest and jumping back in fright. He held onto the door frame, one hand over his heart as he waited for the beats to settle to a normal rhythm and his breathing to return to something that didn't sound like an old man gasping for air.

"Not a morning person, I see," said Astrid, grinning at him. She offered him a freshly made cup of strong brew.

He eyed her dubiously, before taking the hot drink gratefully. "Thanks. Usually I am, but I didn't sleep well," he mumbled, carefully sipping the hot beverage.

"Oh. That's no good. Any particular reason why?" she asked blithely, turning to pour herself a cup of coffee too.

Hiccup stared at her. She had obviously been up for a while, and was dressed in her figure hugging running outfit. Fragments of last night's dream flashed across his mind, and he had to look away to stop his imagination taking off with him again.

Glancing back, he found her watching him in concern. He gave a half-hearted grimace. "Just some nightmares, nothing serious," he lied.

"Anything I can do?" she offered generously.

His eyes widened at the suggestion. "Ah, no. It's okay," he stammered.

She eyed him quizzically. "You sure? Sometimes talking about them helps you find out what the cause of it is. You know...something in your life that's bothering you."

Hiccup pulled back, his eyes wide for a moment before he forced himself to calm down. She hadn't read his thoughts, it was impossible. No, she was only offering sound advice, Hiccup had to tell himself.

"I'm pretty sure I know what's causing it," he told her quickly, wondering if he should run now or grab breakfast first. Astrid opened her mouth to speak, but Hiccup hastily cut her off, wanting to avoid any further questions. "I had a...a late night snack. That always gives me bad dreams...I can't remember what it was all about anyway, so …no harm," he told her, shrugging.

He held up his coffee. "Caffeine helps though. Thanks."

She smiled uncertainly. Hiccup could tell she didn't really believe him although she said nothing further.

"Okay then."

Astrid turned to place her mug on the counter, and Hiccup breathed out quietly in relief. He couldn't deny he felt an attraction to her, but he also knew it was something he could never act on. Despite constantly reminding himself of her youth, that hadn't stopped him having feelings for her. Being a relative of Fishlegs hadn't quelled his treacherous thoughts either, neither had her obvious persistence in flirting with him.

Then there was the other reason he didn't want to notice her...feelings meant revealing his secrets…secrets he wasn't ready to willingly share with anybody. Especially not Astrid. Only a few people knew them, and he preferred to keep it that way.

Hiccup's thoughts were interrupted, when Astrid turned back to him.

"Um...Hiccup?"

He paused. Hiccup had yet to see Astrid show any kind of shyness or uncertainty, but she was certainly hesitant now. His curiosity was aroused. What was the problem?

"Yes?"

She lowered her gaze self-consciously. "Er…I wanted to say thank you for last night. I know you didn't want to go," she continued before he could say anything. "And I wanted to show you how much I really appreciated what you did for me." She stepped back to reveal what he hadn't noticed earlier…breakfast.

Hiccup was astonished. "You didn't have to do that," he told her gently, even though he felt touched that she would do something so thoughtful for him.

She bit her lip in a shy manner, and Hiccup couldn't help staring at her mouth. A momentary flashback to last night's dream came to mind, and he gave a short gasp as he recalled what he had wanted to do with those very same lips.

She looked up startled.

"Er, what a surprise," he told her quickly, hoping she hadn't caught him staring at her.

"I made you breakfast," she told him nervously, and practically pushed him into his chair. Hiccup landed awkwardly, but hurriedly straightened himself.

Astrid turned around and grabbed the food roughly in her anxiety, almost spilling the contents as she hastily dropped it on the table in front of him.

She stood back and chewed on her lip anxiously, staring at him with a pained look while she waited for his verdict.. Hiccup smiled encouragingly.

"Mmm…these eggs look delicious," he told her, glancing up at her. Astrid was practically rigid with tension, and Hiccup wondered if he should be worried by her behaviour. She'd already told him previously she had little experience with cooking. But with Mrs Ingerman as a doting aunt, surely some of the ample framed woman's skills should have rubbed off onto her favourite niece?

Even if it hadn't, this meal was a simple scrambled eggs on toast. Anybody could pull this one off. Right?

Hiccup took a generous bite, and immediately found his taste buds under assault. He froze, glancing at her and seeing the sad acknowledgement of her failure there.

"I'm sorry, Hiccup. It's the salt, isn't it?" she asked forlornly, her shoulders drooping in disappointment.

All he wanted to do was spit that food out, then rinse and rinse again till his mouth was cleared…in about a week's time. But seeing her so upset over her failure, Hiccup couldn't do it. He forced himself to chew, then swallow, giving her an uneasy grin.

"Tastes good," he choked out, the overdose of salt having stripped all the moisture from his mouth. She frowned at his chivalry.

"Give me that, before you do yourself an injury," she demanded, snatching the plate from under his nose.

Hiccup thought about putting up a protest, but really, his stomach was deeply offended at suddenly having such a noxious concoction forced into its domain…and was about to show its displeasure if he dared eat another mouthful.

He sighed quietly in relief instead, watching as she scraped the whole plateful into the collie's bowl. Toothless strolled over, gave one sniff, then shot Hiccup a murderous glare for allowing Astrid to pile the disastrous meal onto him.

"Sorry bud," mouthed Hiccup sympathetically to his dog. He knew that as soon as Astrid's back was turned, he would have to scrub out the bowl and replace it with the collie's favourite dog biscuits instead as compensation.

"I'm so sorry, Hiccup," Astrid begged, wringing her hands together in despair. She had tried so hard to make him a meal and it had been a total disaster. Now he probably thought she hated him and was trying to poison him.

Hiccup watched the miserable and wretched girl for a moment, and his heart ached for her. He stood up.

"How about we try again…only this time, I'll help," he offered gently, pushing aside his own turmoil for the moment.

Relief flooded her face, and she smiled in appreciation. "That seems like a perfect plan to me," she told him gratefully.

Hiccup felt like his world had brightened, seeing her smile so warmly at him. Astrid hurried to locate the ingredients, and Hiccup turned to begin work. His own smile almost matched hers.

-oOo-

Later that morning, Hiccup was at Fishleg's house again while Astrid had stayed home, wanting to take the opportunity to catch up on some personal chores. The task ahead was choosing paint colours...a job she felt she didn't need to be involved in. Hiccup couldn't help but feel a little concerned over the blonde woman. They had both enjoyed their second attempt at scrambled eggs, but she had remained a little quiet. He suspected she was still feeling guilty over the breakfast debacle.

A disaster that he was now telling his best friend about.

"And you ate it?" asked Fishlegs incredulously. "Haven't you ever heard the legends of the Hofferson women's cooking skills?" he asked, his eyes wide at his friend's foolish admission.

"Uh…yes. But I thought that was all myths and nonsense," Hiccup replied sheepishly. "I didn't know it was even _possible_ to ruin scrambled eggs. You just…scramble the eggs. Simple. Add a little salt. Nothing to it."

He stared his friend straight in the eye and said flatly, "Fish…there was enough salt in there to put the Dead Sea out of business."

Fishlegs snorted, but didn't disagree.

"You survived, that's the main thing. Plus, you learned a valuable lesson," he told the leaner man without sympathy.

"Yeah…keep the locks on the cooking equipment," replied Hiccup ardently.

Fishlegs laughed, his hand landing on Hiccup's shoulder companionably.

-oOo-

Astrid had waited about twenty minutes after Hiccup had left before she started. She still felt horribly guilty for nearly poisoning the man when he had done nothing but good things for her. He had every right to throw her out of the kitchen and ban her from ever touching food again...but he hadn't. Instead, he had allowed her to take part in a joint cooking session. And she had to say, it had been rather nice to do so even though he had been more subdued than usual...she couldn't blame him for that, he was probably still on edge. At the end of the meal though, she had literally pushed him from the kitchen so she could at least wash the dishes in atonement for her error.

But now, she was on another mission. Hiccup had been so kind as to put his work on hold while he entertained her and helped Fishlegs with the renovations, working long hours to do so. Astrid knew he was on a deadline, so she wanted to repay the favour by helping with the household chores, so he could concentrate more on his writing.

Today, she planned to tackle the laundry. Hefting the heavy basket full of clothes out of the bathroom, she made her way to the laundry room. The Siamese cats followed her, jumping up onto the bench.

"Where's the detergent?" she asked them, giving Tuffnut a gentle stroke between his ears while she opened cupboard doors. The purring cat rubbed himself into her hand.

"Ahh, here it is," Astrid smiled triumphantly, pulling out the box of powder. After sorting through the clothes, (she blushed when she found his boxers. At least _that_ question was answered) she measured out the required amount of detergent into the machine, then placed the box on the bench. Remembering an extra shirt she wanted to put in, Astrid headed back to her room leaving the washing machine open.

She had barely left, when Ruff's ears flattened backwards, and she began to stalk her twin across the counter. Tuff crouched down, his tail swishing wildly from side to side as he prepared for the assault. Suddenly, Ruff pounced, tackling the other Siamese to the counter with a hard push, knocking over the detergent in the process. The box landed with a 'bang', making them both scramble away from the sound in surprise.

Curiosity soon proved too powerful, though, and the pair cautiously returned to investigate. Tuff sniffed the coarse powder that had spilled across the bench and into the open machine. He pulled back quickly and sneezed, his eyes blinking rapidly against the strong odour. Ruff was at his shoulder, and stuck out a soft paw to bat the box. It spun on its axis, spreading the spilt powder across the bench.

Astrid returned, immediately noticing the upended box. She dropped her shirt into the machine without looking, then stood the box back to its rightful position.

"Can't I even turn my back for one moment without you two getting into mischief?" she gently scolded the two unrepentant felines.

Giving them an affectionate rub, Astrid closed the lid on the machine before turning it on. She cleaned up the mess then walked away, feeling quite pleased with herself...like a domestic goddess extraordinaire. How surprised Hiccup was going to be, when he found the laundry already done.

About half an hour later, Astrid was the one feeling surprised. She had been enthusiastically scrubbing the bathroom, when she realised the low drone coming from the washing machine had changed. Curious, she walked towards the laundry only to gasp in horror. Soap bubbles filled the room, pumping up through the drain in the floor and pouring out of the lid of the washer.

Rushing headlong into the mess, Astrid urgently stopped the machine. Standing there with her mouth hanging open in shock, Astrid felt her stomach drop into her shoes. How did this happen? And how was she going to clean this up? The bubbles were _everywhere_ …all over the floor _and_ the washer.

Astrid heard Hiccup's truck pull up, and her gut twisted at the sound. He was home early! There was nothing she could do, except head him off until she had a chance to clean it up.

Quickly striding to the kitchen, she startled him when he walked in the door.

"Hey Hiccup. You're home early. I didn't expect you back so quickly. Did you forget something?" she garbled out in a rush.

He raised his eyebrows at her unusual greeting, noting the wetness and bubbles that still clung to her shoes and the lower half of her jeans.

"No, I didn't forget anything," he replied slowly, watching her flushed expression. "What's happened?" he asked shrewdly.

Astrid blanched. "Nothing's happened, why would you ask what's happened?" she replied quickly. Fidgeting nervously with her braid, she bit her lip. Hiccup grinned.

Pointing towards her shoes, he stated the obvious. "You're wet and covered in bubbles, plus you're stammering in a very guilty fashion. Have the twins done something again?"

Astrid's shoulders drooped in resignation. "You had better come with me," she told him heavily.

Reluctantly trudging back to the scene of the crime, she stood aside to let Hiccup see for himself. He stood with his hands on his hips in silence, surveying the bubble alien that had overtaken his laundry room.

"I'm so sorry, Hiccup. I wanted to surprise you but I don't know what happened. I'm sure I put the right amount of detergent in the machine, but then…I found this."

Astrid cringed, waiting for the explosion of disappointment to come forth. To her astonishment, he laughed instead.

"Well, that's one way to clean a room I suppose," he chuckled. Hiccup could only feel chuffed, despite the obvious mess, that Astrid was trying so hard to pull her own weight and help him out. He couldn't bring himself to feel any kind of anger towards her. Especially when he suspected who the real culprits were.

"You're not… mad?" she asked, her eyes wide in confusion…and trepidation. This was the second time this morning she had created a disaster.

He shook his head, his eyes twinkling as he faced her. "No. I'm plenty sure there are two very naughty cats involved in this mess. Come on…I'll help you clean it up."

Astrid tried to refuse his offer, but he wouldn't budge. So while they cleaned, she continued to apologize profusely until finally he had to grip her shoulder.

"Astrid, it's okay. I don't believe it's your fault for one second. Trust me when I say, the twins have done much worse than this. Now, if you don't stop apologizing, I will be forced to send you outside with the cats until I have finished cleaning."

Astrid bit her lip and nodded. She still felt immensely guilty, but his message lifted her spirits a little. They carried on with their work, Hiccup even managing to get her to crack a smile. It took a long time, but finally the room was cleaned and the clothes were spinning gently in the dryer.

"There…all done," Hiccup told her with a smile. He tipped her chin encouragingly. "Come on, let's have a coffee and some of Mrs Ingerman's apple pie."

Astrid sighed thankfully. "You had me at apple pie," she told him with a smirk.

Hiccup laughed and led the way out.

-oOo-

The next afternoon, Hiccup and the two cousins plonked down on the cloth covered floor of Fishleg's spare room. They were speckled with paint and completely exhausted after painting all day.

Fishlegs wiped a sweaty arm across his "White on White" streaked brow, which was actually a neutral soft blue, then rubbed his contrast "Snow Season" stained fingers, which was actually more of a muted grey, across his shirt.

Astrid giggled.

"If I needed to describe the colours in this room...all I would have to do is point towards you," she told her cousin with an amused grin.

Fishlegs looked down at himself, then blushed.

Hiccup chuckled at his friend. "At least you contrast well."

Fishlegs rolled his eyes. "I can't help it that paint seems to stick to me more than it does the walls. It's because I'm so big," he complained.

Astrid leaned forward to tease him. "I like that colour on you...which is probably a good thing because it's gonna take you a week to scrub all that off."

Fishlegs groaned. "Mum will kill me if I get any paint on her furniture. I can hear the plastic coverings coming out now," he said, sighing at the thought.

Astrid pulled a face in sympathy.

Hiccup tried to comfort his friend. "We'll make sure it's all cleaned up before we go. Just look how far you've come with this room. Only the carpet to go, and this room's ready for action again."

He couldn't help but glance across towards Astrid as he spoke, realising with a sinking feeling, that soon she would be leaving him. Ever since Friday night at the dance...and his subsequent 'nightmare'...Hiccup had been doing his best to stay remote and distant from her. But the prospect of not having her in his life was more painful than he was prepared for.

He knew that she would only be at the bottom of the hill, not that far away at all, but having become used to her presence every day in his home, the idea of only seeing her perhaps once a week or less, was not an idea he wanted to entertain.

Hiccup straightened his shoulders and chided himself. Astrid leaving was a good thing…both for her and for him. She could go on to find somebody much more suitable, and he could go back to his lonely…very lonely…life on his little hill. Where he felt much more comfortable. This was how it was meant to be.

Fishlegs said something to him, and Hiccup looked up in alarm. "Huh?"

His friend gave him an odd look, but repeated himself. "I'm going to clean the paint brushes. Can you and Astrid start on the clean-up in here?" he asked.

Hiccup glanced cautiously towards the blonde woman, who was eyeing him in concern.

"Um…yeah. No problems, we've got this," he told Fishlegs with false enthusiasm.

Fishlegs nodded distractedly, watching Hiccup closely, but left the two of them soon after. Hiccup and Astrid went straight to work, pulling away the edging tape and carefully clearing the room of all paint splattered items that no longer needed to be there.

Hiccup remained focussed on his task, not even responding to Astrid's attempts to engage him into conversation except with a brief noncommittal grunt or two. Astrid kept shooting him puzzled glances, wondering why her normally relaxed host was so withdrawn all of a sudden. She became worried that she had done something to offend him, perhaps the salty eggs and the mess she had created in his laundry had been too much. Or forcing him to take her to the dance when he quite obviously didn't want to go.

Astrid bit her lip in indecision. She didn't like not knowing what was going on with him, or why he was obviously feeling so down. It worried her. A lot. Sure, she'd fumbled through things with him before. But he had always seemed okay after it, despite the embarrassment. Whatever this way, ran a lot deeper than that and she hated thinking that she was the cause of his distress.

Hiccup gave a huge sigh of relief once they'd finished their work. He barely glanced at her when he indicated he was going to take the last load of rubbish outside. She nodded in agreement, hastening to collect some of the load for herself. She felt something twist deep inside her, as she followed him.

Fishlegs was already there, so he helped them throw the rubbish into the skip bin.

"All done?" Fishlegs asked cheerfully, when they had finished.

Hiccup nodded curtly. "Yup."

Fishlegs smiled broadly. "Great. Time for some of mum's famous cherry pie," he told them eagerly.

Hiccup eyed him. "Sorry Fish. I'm going to have to decline," he told his friend politely. "I'm fairly tired. Plus, I still need to finish my book."

Fishlegs frowned in concern. "You okay? It's still early," he asked, eyeing his friend carefully.

Hiccup nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Listen, I'll be back after the carpet layers have finished, to help you move the new furniture in."

He indicated towards Astrid before either could interrupt him. "You can bring Astrid back later, can't you? That way you guys can plan where you want things to go."

For some reason, Fishlegs flushed at this statement, but Hiccup was too wound up to notice or to wonder why.

Astrid broke in. "If it's okay, can I come back with you?" she asked Hiccup quickly.

He gave her an odd look, so she hastily explained, "I've got some study to do before work tomorrow. I promise I'll be quiet so I won't disturb you."

His shoulders seemed to slump at this, but he nodded wearily anyway. "Yeah sure. Hop in."

Astrid ran inside to grab her belongings and say goodbye to her aunt, before bringing out Hiccup's jacket with her.

"Aunt Freda said she'll send Fish up with some of the Cherry pie later on," she told him, handing his belongings out for him to take.

"Sure," was the brief reply.

Astrid and Fishlegs shared a worried look over Hiccup's state of mind, before they said their goodbyes. Hiccup waited patiently in the truck until she got in too. Astrid could only shoot an anxious glance sideways at him, wondering what was troubling him and wishing desperately she could make things better.

The short trip back up the hill was silent, so Astrid had the chance to keep sneaking worried glances in his direction. His jaw was tense, his brow furrowed as if in anger. Astrid was sure she must have upset him, despite his protestations that he was only tired. She wanted to apologize, but seeing him like this was a little unnerving and she wasn't sure how to tread next. Despite the knots in her stomach, Astrid decided she was going to do all she could to set things right.

-oOo-

Later that evening, Astrid approached Hiccup while he was rinsing out a cup at the kitchen sink.

"Hiccup…."

He looked up. "Hmm?"

"Are you okay?" she asked tentatively.

"Huh?"

She bit her lip. "I mean, you've been really quiet since yesterday. I was worried that maybe…you know…the dance? That it might have been too much?"

He stopped to look at her, not sure what she was saying. "What do you mean?"

Astrid shuffled nervously on the spot, and turned her focus to the pattern on the countertop. "I'm sorry that I pushed you into taking me to the dance on Friday, when you really didn't want to go. Especially after what happened there. I didn't mean for you to be so miserable. I only thought that we could maybe have some fun together, you know?" she told him carefully, trying desperately to keep the wobble out of her voice.

She heard him take in a sharp breath, and she cringed inside. Obviously she had been correct. He was mad.

"And I'm also really sorry for the mess I made yesterday. I wanted to help so you could catch up with your writing…seeing as you spent so much time with me and Fishlegs this past week. Only things didn't go quite to plan and I took up even more of your time. I'm so sorry about that."

Hiccup was silent for so long, that she had to glance up. Whatever she had been expecting, it wasn't this. He appeared stunned…and torn.

He shook his head. "I'm…I'm not…." He paused to take in a deep breath.

Hiccup didn't know what to do. Her heartfelt apology for something that she shouldn't even be apologizing for threw his plans for keeping her at arm's length out the window. His insides twisted tightly at her anxious plea, and he felt guilty for making her think that she needed to say those words in the first place. He had been trying to protect himself, and hadn't stopped to think what his actions would do to her.

He groaned inwardly. Here he was trying to prevent any further attachment to her, and she went and did something sweet like this? He had to take in a few deeper breaths to calm himself so he could give some sort of answer.

"No…it's okay. None of this is your fault, trust me. I'm….just worried about reaching my deadline, that's all. Plus feeling a tad exhausted from all the work," he tried to reassure her, giving a poor excuse for a grin.

She eyed him dubiously. "You sure? We're okay?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah. We're okay, don't worry about it. Nothing a few extra hours of sleep won't fix, hey?"

Astrid gave a soft smile back, not totally convinced but willing to accept his word anyway. A small weight lifted off her shoulders, although she still couldn't help but remain worried about him. Especially when she recalled Fishlegs telling her Hiccup had suffered from anxiety.

Impulsively she reached forward, and hugged him tightly. Hiccup was really thrown by the action, but managed to give her a brief squeeze back before she released him.

"Thank you Hiccup. For everything you've done for me. I really appreciate it."

When he gave her a watery smile, Astrid indicated behind her, backing up as she spoke. "I'll …um, go now. Leave you in peace, and all that."

She turned and fled, leaving Hiccup to stare after her, wondering how on earth he was ever going to go back to his regular routine…and not have her in his life.

* * *

 **Whoops! Hiccup is in deeper than he knows. How long can he hold out?**


	13. Chapter 13

**Warning: This chapter contains a small suggestive violent scene. I'll post a note if you're keen to skip over it.**

* * *

Early the next morning, Hiccup found himself sheepishly approaching Astrid while she prepared her morning coffee.

"Er…Astrid," he said quietly, his hand rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"Do you want some coffee?" she asked quickly, turning to him with a mug in hand.

"Uh…thanks," he said, taking the proffered cup a little awkwardly.

"Can't start a Monday morning without caffeine," she said almost too brightly, her smile feeling a little forced, even to him.

She was about to turn away to collect another mug for herself, when he stopped her, placing a hand on her arm. She glanced at his hand, then up at him in confusion.

"Astrid. I…I just wanted to say…sorry," he confessed.

"About what?"

"About my behaviour yesterday."

Astrid tried to intervene with another forced smile. "It's okay…I"

"No," he interrupted firmly. "It's not okay. I was rude and made you feel uncomfortable. I...I never intended to do that. I guess I have more to learn about being around other people than I care to admit," he told her, colour creeping up his neck with his increasing nerves.

Astrid's gaze softened, remembering that he really was a hermit. She'd teased him about it, but not actually considered what that meant. Despite being a well-known author, he'd not had many opportunities to interact with others beyond his closest friends. And even though he had been great about having her unexpectedly shoved into his 'safe zone', there was still going to be a limit to what he could handle.

"It's okay, Hiccup. Really. And I appreciate you telling me that. I'm sure it's been difficult having me here and you're probably ready to have your home to yourself again," she told him with understanding in her voice, feeling like she knew where he was coming from.

Till he said something she didn't expect.

"No, actually it's the opposite of that."

Astrid blinked. "Sorry?"

His hand pushed back his beanie to scratch the side of his head anxiously, then pulled it back down again while taking a deeper breath for encouragement. He needed to say this before he chickened out altogether.

"I didn't think I would, but...I've enjoyed having you here. It's been...nice...to have somebody to talk to again...Somebody who can talk back to me, that is. Like a real person talk back, I mean," he added, glancing at her from under his lashes.

She giggled, thinking of the conversations she'd heard him have with his animals...and himself.

The corner of his mouth twitched upwards momentarily at the sound, but he was determined to finish.

"So, yes, it's been good...Why is this so hard?" he muttered to himself, then took another breath. "I was actually feeling sorry that you were going to be leaving here...and I was trying to keep my distance from you so it wouldn't hurt so much when you left, but of course that came off all wrong and made you feel like I was angry at you instead. So...I'm very sorry I made you feel that way," he finally finished. He let out a rush of air, thankful for having finally said what he had needed to say.

Astrid was astounded at Hiccup's admission. She really hadn't expected him to say any of that. But it made her feel warm to know he was actually reluctant to see her go. Her heart did a quick double beat with the knowledge that perhaps she had made some kind of impact on him after all. Astrid knew she wasn't keen to leave either, but staying wasn't an option anymore. Especially not after all the effort her cousin had made in repairing the spare room for her.

"Thank you Hiccup. I'm going to miss you too, but I'll only be down the bottom of the hill. Not far away at all," she tried to reassure him, recognizing the short distance still sounded too far away even for her. "We'll see each other often, I'm sure. I thought you would be glad to see the back of me so you could finish your writing, after all that time you lost last week. No more distractions, hey?" she teased.

Hiccup gave a half-smile and nodded, but inside he was practically screaming to himself, ' _You have no idea how distracting._ ' Instead of revealing all his secret thoughts however, he responded with a half-truth instead.

"Yeah, I have been getting a little anxious about the deadline. It's looming up fairly quickly, and I did lose more time than I expected to helping Fish. Not that I minded," he added hastily.

Astrid took a step forward and hugged him. Hiccup saw her coming this time, and was prepared, wrapping his arms around her torso in response to her actions. He closed his eyes, soaking up the sensation of having a warm body so close to his. Especially if it was Astrid.

He felt her grip loosening, and reluctantly, he did the same. She stepped back.

"Thank you so much Hiccup, for all you've done. Until Fishlegs takes me back, I want to do all I can to help you stay on track with your writing," Astrid promised.

Hiccup felt a rush of gratitude for her sincerity, knowing without a doubt, that she would do exactly what she said.

"Thanks Astrid. I appreciate that."

Later, Hiccup watched as Astrid left for work with Fishlegs. He felt much better for having been truthful…mostly…with her. There were still some things he didn't feel was quite appropriate to share. But seeing Astrid happy again was worth all the trouble.

Hiccup turned to go back inside, giving Toothless a pat as he walked past. Astrid was only going to be here for a day or two more, so Hiccup made a decision... relax and enjoy the remaining time with her while he could. But in the meantime, he needed to focus hard. His urgent deadline was no joke. Five weeks and shrinking fast.

Grabbing another cup of coffee for himself, Hiccup dropped his gaze to his faithful canine friend beside him.

"Time to get this done, bud."

-oOo-

If Astrid had thought she could take the small town's reclusive and semi-famous author to the local dance and nobody would notice, she was about to realise she was sadly mistaken.

She entered the door of the physio's reception, the little bell ringing gaily to announce her arrival. Joe was at the counter, and when he looked up to see his apprentice walking in, he shot her a knowing grin. Astrid was a little unsure why, but she soon found out.

"So Astrid….I see you and Hiccup…you dance on Friday, si?"

Astrid was startled. "Oh! Were you there?" she asked.

Joe shook his head. "No, I was with my…er, lady friend. But I heard the elusive Hiccup, he has come to the dance with a pretty woman on his arm. So I think to myself, who could this young, blonde and so beautiful signorina be? Hmm…?"

Astrid blushed, before composing herself and answering as casually as possible, "We're just friends. Fishlegs couldn't take me, and he said he would."

Joe clapped his hands in delight. "Ahh! Just friends! Like me and my lady friend." He gave her a broad wink, which horrified Astrid no end.

"No, no. You don't understand. We're just _friends_ ," she tried to emphasize.

The stocky physio's grin only got broader. "Yes, friends. We're all just _friends_ ," he teased her, throwing his hands expressively in the air.

Astrid was rendered speechless, her jaw working soundlessly while she tried to find more words to emphasize the type of 'friends' that she and Hiccup were. But from the completely delighted look on Joe's face, she didn't think she was going to achieve anything more than reinforce what he apparently already firmly believed.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, sure. Friends," she said weakly.

His next words though, had her blinking madly and rapidly disappearing past the Italian to the safety of her therapy room.

"So what do we tell Snotlout?"

-oOo-

Later that morning, Astrid was finding Friday's dance haunting her again. She was at the counter giving some last-minute instructions to one of her clients, when in strolled Snotlout himself. He had his thumbs hooked into the waist of his jeans, and the smuggest grin she ever had the misfortune to see.

She glanced briefly at him, while she completed her transaction with her client. Once the older lady had left, Snotlout strolled over. He leaned one arm on the counter attempting to be suave and winked at Astrid.

"So, uh, hey babe…I hear you want me," he told her with a suggestive grin.

Astrid recoiled as if he'd shoved a garbage can of rotten cabbages under her nose. "Ugh…wherever did you get that idea?" she demanded, even if she already knew.

Snotlout shifted so both his elbows were on the counter, and his chin rested in his palms. He gave her a supposedly alluring look, which nearly made her throw up right there. The chipmunk cheeks didn't help either.

"I have my ways," he told her. "I also hear I've got competition. Why don't you ditch the old guy, and we can make beautiful music together," he suggested.

"Hiccup is not old," she immediately replied, defending her host. "Anyway, _you'll_ be his age in a few years."

Snotlout stood up and smoothed his hair back. "Yeah, but I'll make old look _goood_ ," he boasted.

Astrid snorted.

"Anyway, why don't you come out with the Snotman? We can go get a coffee, and you can stare into these beautiful baby browns and see your wonderful future," he suggested, waggling his eyebrows at her.

Astrid gave him an unimpressed glare. "First of all, I'm at work. Second of all, no. Just flat no. I don't see you like that. And third of all, did I mention no?" she told him, her brow arched high.

Snotlout wasn't perturbed by her refusal at all. In fact, it seemed to spur him on. "Whatever babe. I know you're playing hard to get. But inside I know your little heart is beating a rhythm for me…Snot - lout - Snot - lout - Oi - Oi - Oi," he whispered to her, his hand beating against his chest in time with his words.

Astrid put her hand up. "Thanks for the offer. But no thanks," she said firmly.

He gave her a seductive grin, turning lazily to stroll out the door. "Playing hard to get. I can dig it. But you'll fall for me. They always do. Till next time then babe. Bye Astrid."

She didn't respond, only frowning at the confident young man. She made sure he had departed before calling up her next client.

Hopefully it would end there.

-oOo-

Nope, it didn't.

Astrid was expecting Fishlegs to pick her up as usual that afternoon, but to her surprise Hiccup appeared instead. She jumped into the cab of his truck.

"Fishlegs was still busy with the carpet layers, so he asked me to come down," Hiccup explained at her questioning look.

"He shouldn't have called you. You need to finish your book. I could have walked back," she chided gently.

He shook his head and gave her a half smirk. "It's okay. I needed a break anyway. Frank was not being co-operative."

"Oh...ah, thank you. Um…is it okay if we stop by Mrs Jones shop before we head back? I need to refill a few things," she asked him, while clicking in her seatbelt.

"Sure. I need a few things myself. Didn't get much chance to shop last week," he replied, pulling out onto the street.

As soon as they both walked into the older lady's store, they knew there was going to be trouble.

"Well, well... look who it is coming to grace me with their presence today," chuckled Mrs Jones in delight. "You two are the talk of the town you know."

"We are? Why?" asked Astrid in surprise, while Hiccup groaned quietly beside her, his fingers already pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.

Mrs Jones shot a sidelong glance at Hiccup. "It's not every day Berk's most eligible bachelor suddenly appears on the dance floor…and with a ravishing blonde at that. People are putting two and two together you know," she told them, obviously enjoying herself.

Astrid frowned in disbelief. "Did anybody also notice that I was dancing with Snotlout for most of the night? And not Hiccup?" she asked pointedly.

Mrs Jones smirk grew even wider, her cheeks puffing out roundly. "Oh yes, they saw. The rumour mill has it that all of you are in a love triangle, competing for young Astrid's attention," she told them merrily.

"WHAT?" yelled Astrid and Hiccup at the same time, their jaws dropping open instantly. Although Astrid supposed she should have seen that one coming.

"Why would they think that? We're just friends," huffed Astrid.

Mrs Jones gave them an impish grin, then winked. "Sure. Just friends. We know that," she said smugly.

Astrid could only roll her eyes. "Again with the innuendos," she complained. "Can't anybody just be 'friend' friends?" she wanted to know.

The shopkeeper laughed heartily. "Not when it comes to our Hiccup," she informed them. At Hiccup's indignant snort, she told him directly, "Well, you do insist on being a very eligible bachelor, living alone up on that hill. This is what happens."

He shot her a dry look. "And it's also precisely why I do live alone. Too many people sticking their nose in my business," he retorted. "I suppose they also know that Astrid is living in my house," he added bitterly.

Mrs Jones shook her head. "No, of course they don't. There's only a handful of people who know that fact and none of them are talking."

Hiccup raised a quizzical eyebrow at her.

She chuckled. "I don't tell everything I know."

Both Astrid and Hiccup gave her a deadpan ' _oh really_?' look.

She laughed, without an ounce of regret or shame.

"Okay, so I do tend to say a few things," she admitted. "But in this case, I've said nothing, only listened."

The young couple in front of her shot her another unamused look.

"Alright, alright. You don't have to keep looking at me like that. I may well have…encouraged a few conversations, but it was only to find out what everybody was saying. And so far, nobody knows Astrid is staying with you, Hiccup. If they did, you can imagine the whole town would be in a tizz right now."

Hiccup frowned at this, knowing full well how much the gossipers liked to talk in this small town.

Mrs Jones reached over to give him a friendly pat on his shoulder. "You're both safe for now, so don't worry about it. Anyway, are you here for groceries, or do you need some love advice?" she teased.

Hiccup blushed to the tips of his ears, totally speechless. Astrid was feeling a little flushed herself, but after a side glance at her host she decided to take pity on him and step in with her list of items first. By the time Mrs Jones had tallied up the amount for her, Hiccup had managed to get his flaming cheeks under control...to some degree. He ordered his groceries too, but deliberately said nothing further on the subject. However, the way Mrs Jones kept glancing at the two of them left them under no illusion as to what she was thinking about.

That Hiccup and Astrid were quote _'friends'_ unquote.

-oOo-

Dinner that night was certainly quieter than usual. The pair sat at the kitchen table. Only the sound of their cutlery clinking and scraping over the plates could be heard, with the occasional gentle 'thud' when one or the other had lifted their glass for a drink before placing it back on the table.

Astrid glanced up at Hiccup. "Did you manage to get some writing for your story done today?" she asked tentatively, feeling a little awkward with the silence. All the talk of 'friends' today had been quite embarrassing, and neither really knew how to get past it all.

Hiccup swallowed his mouthful and shrugged briefly. He kept his eyes down as he pushed some more food around on his plate before answering.

"It's been a week since I last worked on it. I need some time to reacquaint myself first before I can pick up the flow again. I ended up going for a walk to the cove this morning anyway, so that took a few hours," he told her casually, loading up his fork with more food while he spoke.

"Oh. Are you going to work on it tonight?" she asked carefully.

He glanced up at her, his fork paused in mid-air. "Yes, actually. I think I had better push ahead while I can. Will that be okay with you?" he asked politely, finally taking a bite of his food.

She nodded. "That will be perfectly fine. I told you I'd help you as much as possible while I'm still here. Why don't you head to your office after dinner? Toothless and I can clean up the kitchen quite happily by ourselves," she told him.

Hiccup put down his fork for a moment. "I don't want to impose on you like that. I can do it."

She gave him her best 'no-nonsense' look. "Hiccup. That wasn't a suggestion," she warned.

Hiccup's brows shot straight up in astonishment. He was about to argue, but when she hardened her glare at him, he decided discretion might be the safest choice.

"Thank you," he said meekly, dropping his gaze back towards his food.

-oOo-

After she was sure Hiccup was firmly ensconced in his office, Astrid finished the cleaning up before settling on the couch with an oversized cup of warm milo and the book she intended to read that night. It didn't take long before she had some furry company in the shape of two Siamese twin cats. Toothless was in his usual spot at the feet of his master, so she didn't expect to see him anytime soon.

Astrid welcomed the felines into her lap with a soft smile, stroking down their backs and past their tails, listening to them purr as they lapped up the attention she bestowed on them. They soon settled, curling up and making themselves comfortable beside her. Astrid idly scratched Tuffnut between his ears as she returned her attention to the book she was holding.

It was one of Hiccup's books, the one she had started reading the previous weekend but hadn't finished. At the time, she had told Hiccup she was researching him. Tonight, her goal remained the same. Flipping to the last page she'd been to, Astrid began to read.

-oOo-

 **Beginning of violence bit**

Frank was sleeping on the ancient bed located in a miserably tiny apartment he had rented while waiting for his next contact. But 'peacefully' sleeping was not really an option. Frank's large frame tossed and turned, sweat pouring off him as he lived through his nightmare once more.

 _He could see the older man being forced to his knees, his greyed head held roughly back by Cappa, the sinister leader of the Stealth Gang. Cappa held a large knife to the old man's throat, who in turn was fearfully staring at Frank. His eyes held a desperate plea._

 _"Help me Frank, please?" he begged._

 _But Frank was powerless to do anything. His hands and feet were tied, and despite his frantic struggles against his shackles, he simply couldn't reach the old man. He could only watch in wretched anguish as Cappa gave a hollow laugh, the evil sound echoing in Frank's mind before he heard the knife slicing through flesh. The cruelness of the action caused Frank to jolt, his eyes on the knife being held up like a prize, blood slowing dripping down the blade. A heavy thud followed, as the old man's lifeless body fell to the floor._

 _"DAD!" Frank yelled, stretching out his hand desperately._

 _But it was too late, the punishment had been executed._

Frank sat bolt upright in bed, his eyes wide as he panted heavily. Swinging his legs out, he sat on the side of the bed, attempting to focus on his surroundings. His heart beat wildly inside his chest, and his breathing was erratic. Sinking his heavy head into his shaking hands, he groaned like the wretched man he was.

"I'm sorry dad, I'm so sorry. I couldn't stop them. Dad…..I'm so sorry."

The nightmare continued to replay in his mind, and he couldn't seem to turn it off. Ever since his father had been murdered so coldly in front of him, Frank had demanded revenge. He had turned over every stone, every rotten and vile excuse for humankind, determined to find those responsible for the death of his father.

Despite the swift justice he had carried out so far, it hadn't dulled the pain. The soul-destroying guilt that told him, he was the one who had killed his own father. He was the one who had allowed it to happen.

 **End of violent bit**

-oOo-

Astrid stopped reading and pressed her lips together thoughtfully. Flipping to the front cover, she read the title, 'Fatal Blow'. Turning the book the opposite direction, she focused on the blurb at the back.

 _'This time, its personal. On another mission to rid his country of egocentrics who seek to gain monetary wealth and power at the expense of those already drowning in misery, Frank finds that the coin has been switched and he is now the target. Betrayed by those he thought he could trust, Frank loses his only real link to sanity...his father. Brutally and coldly executed right in front of him, Frank loses all sense of reason and seeks revenge. But will destroying those who failed him stop the pain?'_

Astrid couldn't help but wonder about this story. The date inside the cover showed it was one of Hiccup's earlier novels. How much of his own feelings had been added into this book? Did Hiccup carry some lingering guilt over his parent's death? She knew they had died in an accident, but nothing more than that. Fishlegs wouldn't tell her, and she doubted she could just blatantly ask Hiccup for details. Mrs Jones would likely know...the woman seemed to know everything that went on in this town...but it didn't seem right to ask her about it behind Hiccups back.

It made her uncomfortable to think about Hiccup going through such difficulties. She so badly wanted to reach out and hold him, to take away his pain and guilt. But he didn't yet trust her enough to tell her his story. Astrid frowned as she tapped the book thoughtfully. Maybe there were a few more clues in the words he had penned. Perhaps he had unknowingly...or knowingly...written into Frank's story the emotions from his own life. Astrid turned her attention back to the book. Whatever the case, she was determined to find out more...and show him she was a friend he could confide in.

Time slipped past, and Astrid found herself becoming more and more engrossed in the story. But as she did, she began to see a pattern. Frank carried a melancholy air about him, in the same way Hiccup did. Frank had lost his father when he was killed by the enemy as punishment for Frank's actions, and the character blamed himself for his father's death.

Astrid peered over at the large photo of Hiccup's parents on the lounge room wall. How had they died? She knew it was a sensitive subject, but now the curiosity inside her was beginning to burn. Did Hiccup blame himself for his father's death? Did he cause it? And was their death connected to him losing his leg?

She hummed in frustration. Right now there was no way for her to find out. All her answers depended on Hiccup himself, who was currently unwilling to tell her anything. Despite all the progress they had made so far, it seemed she still had a way to go before she could convince him to trust her.

The two cats stretched out on the couch, then recoiled themselves into that tight little shape only cats are somehow able to do. The action caught Astrid's eye, making her smile. They looked so adorable when they were sleeping. All that innocence just going to waste, she decided with a grin.

Placing a feathery light hand over Ruff's back, she smoothed the fur gently downwards. The cat moved slightly so Astrid lifted her hand again only to repeat the process a few more times. Tuff raised his baby blue irises, blinking heavily into wakefulness.

"Shh, go to sleep," she said quietly. Tuff tucked his chin into his chest, and closed his eyelids.

Astrid grinned at the sight. She was about to pick up her book again when she realised how late it was.

"Oh shoot," she swore softly. "Way past bedtime."

Glancing towards Hiccup's office, she could see the light spilling from his room. The sounds of soft clicking from the keyboard let her know he was still hard at work. She decided not to bother him.

Scooting slowly off the couch so as to not disturb the twins, Astrid gently rose up. Feeling the need to do a few cat stretches herself, she lifted her arms high in the air and arched backwards. A yawn bubbled up her throat, and fatigue began to settle over her making her drowsy.

"Night, night kitties," she whispered. "You too, Hiccup," she added before finally moving towards her own bedroom. It wasn't long before she too was fast asleep.

-oOo-

Frank burst through the thick undergrowth, breathing hard. He paused to survey his surroundings and the people moving purposely past him. He was on the edge of a busy marketplace, the perfect place to slip away unseen. Glancing back warily over his shoulder to see if he was still being pursued, Frank forced his breathing to calm. He needed to look like every other sweaty tourist in this steamy, topical village. Not like the hunted man he was.

Suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks, his jaw hanging open in disbelief. There, on the other side of the bustling street in plain view, was the stunningly gorgeous blonde woman he'd been chasing this entire time. Right there, where he could clearly see her...and also anybody else who was after her.

Frank did his best to stay calm, even though he was beginning to panic on the inside.

-oOo-

Astrid came quietly through the back door early Tuesday afternoon, using her key to gain entry. Hiccup had said he would be working hard on his novel, and she didn't want to disturb him at all if she could help it. Especially as she knew he was planning on helping Fishlegs move furniture back into the newly renovated room tomorrow night.

Astrid had asked Fishlegs that morning on the way to work, if she should pack her stuff and move back in at the same time. But he had only given her a nervous side glance, and practically stuttered, saying the room still had that overpowering new paint smell, and it would be better to wait a few more days.

This reaction had surprised her, but she hadn't been able to ask him more because they had arrived at the physio and her cousin had almost pushed her out of his car before taking off in an obvious hurry.

Astrid had thought this incredibly odd, but had forgotten about it in the excitement of a new technique Joe was teaching her. She was very happy to be under his tutelage, even if the popular physio was still teasing her about Hiccup and Snotlout. Astrid decided it was best to purse her lips tight and say nothing. She had started off defending herself by saying Hiccup was a friend only and that she didn't know Snotlout well enough to even call him that, but those comments had been enough to set off the friendly Italian into a higher level of animated one-sided conversation. She'd even had to duck at one point when his enthusiastic hand waving had nearly connected with her jaw.

Eventually, though, Joe had relaxed and told her, "Okay...I leave you alone now. But I will find out." He'd said it with a friendly shake of his finger, but Astrid hadn't missed the calculating gleam in his eye. Deciding that ignoring it was the best way to deal with it, she had continued on with her clients.

She'd finished with her caseload early today, but Fishlegs wasn't available, and Astrid really didn't want to call Hiccup and disturb him again. So she'd walked instead, enjoying the fresh air and the hike up the hill.

Tucking her key back inside her bag, Astrid had managed to tip toe half way through the living room, when she was startled to hear Hiccup speak.

"Selene, what are you doing here? You have to go. Now. Before anybody sees you," he said desperately

Astrid froze in shock, her eyes opening wide. Hiccup had a woman in there? One he needed to keep secret? Who was she? Or more importantly, who was she to Hiccup? And what was going to happen if that woman caught her sneaking through Hiccup's house? Astrid thought it might be more prudent to find a way to 'disappear'…and quickly. Questions could be answered later.

Ignoring the twin cats looking up at her curiously, Astrid dived behind the couch as quietly as possible, hoping to remain unseen by the mystery woman. She could hear Hiccup muttering but couldn't make out the words, so she tucked herself in tight and tried not to breathe.

Any chances of concealing herself from the unexpected guest started to melt away when she noticed two sets of Siamese blue eyes peering at her over the back of the couch. Astrid couldn't decide if she should ignore them or shoo them away. Neither choice would have made a difference however, because an inquisitive Toothless padded round the side... straight into her hiding space, and began licking her defenceless face.

Astrid spluttered her protest against being covered in saliva, and tried to push him away without issuing any sound. She was becoming frantic, feeling discovery must be imminent any second now. That sensation increased dramatically when she heard Hiccup say in relief, "She's gone now. Hopefully nobody will know she was ever here."

 _'I will_ ,' thought Astrid in despair, still pushing away the collie. ' _I wanted to pretend he was mine, even if it was never going to happen. But I can't if he belongs to somebody else.'_

She heard a chair creak and instantly froze. Who was that? Hiccup? Or Selene.

Footsteps traipsed across the wooden floorboards, pausing in front of the furniture hiding Astrid's stiff form. Without warning, a masculine face with auburn curls peeking out from under a beanie, appeared over the top next to the Siamese cats.

"Astrid...what are you doing down there?" he asked, his lop sided grin growing broader with every passing moment.

"I…I… dropped something," she stuttered wildly, forcing herself to crawl out from her space with as much dignity as she could under the circumstances.

He offered her a hand, but she brushed it away and stood by herself.

Hiccup put his hands on his hips and narrowed his eyes shrewdly at her as if he were a parent questioning a rebellious teenager.

"What's the real reason?" he asked again.

She flicked back her fringe and threw her shoulders back into a defensive position. She'd been caught, but she wasn't about to make it worse by continuing to lie. Especially when she really wanted to find out what was going on anyway.

"I heard you with that other woman, and I didn't want to intrude," she told him with as much muster as she could, silently begging to keep her self-respect.

Hiccup screwed his face up in confusion. "Woman? What woman?"

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Oh come on...you don't have to pull that act with me. That Selene woman you were trying to get rid of."

To her surprise, Hiccup's eyes opened wide in shock...then he laughed uproariously.

"You thought...Selene was ...and with me? Oh…dear," he spluttered, trying to contain his laughter.

Astrid frowned, feeling embarrassed, frustrated and ready to flatten him if he didn't stop laughing and start explaining.

He wiped away the joyous tears. "Astrid, Selene is a character in my book. I was reading Frank's lines out loud to see if they were believable."

"That sounds like an excuse to keep your secret hidden," she said suspiciously, feeling disgruntled at having to undergo this humiliation. Especially if it was over nothing.

Hiccup smiled, and gently took hold of her hand. Astrid thought about tugging herself free and heading to her room to sulk, but that would mean she would have to release her hold on his hand. And it felt quite nice, so she said nothing, allowing him to guide her along.

He brought her into the study and pointed at the words on his computer screen.

Astrid bent low and squinted. She read what he had finished writing.

 _"Selene, what are you doing here? You have to go. Now. Before anybody sees you," Frank murmured frantically, willing her to leave._

 _A beautiful woman like her was clearly visible in a town like this, where the gene pool of the local inhabitants hadn't stretched beyond five foot._

 _Frank needed to track her down, but right now with the enemy so close on his heels, he preferred to have her slip away from his grasp than lose her to them._

 _He glanced over his shoulder again, stiffening in dread when he saw one of the Stealth gang slide through into the doorway of a building. He turned his agitated gaze back towards the blonde woman, but he couldn't see her. She had disappeared._

 _Frank breathed a sigh of relief. "She's gone now. Hopefully nobody will know she was ever here," he muttered, pausing a moment longer before strolling casually in a direction opposite to the gang._

Astrid mentally face palmed herself. "Oh."

Hiccup wore an abashed grin. "Sorry about all that. I sometimes read my story out loud if I want to check that it sounds natural. There's not usually anyone around to hear me... except maybe Toothless and the twins. If it makes you feel any better, Fishlegs has been caught out by my methods before too," he told her, shuffling awkwardly.

Astrid wasn't sure how to react. She felt incredibly embarrassed by her earlier assumptions…and relieved at the same time. She'd nearly allowed jealousy to get the better of her, over a fictional character of all things. A blush pushed its way up her neck while she fought to regain some control over her conflicted emotions.

"Well, maybe you should put up a sign at the door…'Warning: Author at work. May have moments of vocal madness with the side effect of seriously derailing those who hear it'," she offered stiffly.

He gave her a small grin, acknowledging her words. "Maybe. I'm sure Fishlegs would agree. Astrid, I'm truly sorry about this. Let me make it up to you, somehow."

Astrid thought about his offer, and even though she really felt like stalking off to nurse her wounded pride, she knew it wasn't right to lash out at him. He was in his own home doing what he'd done many times before, and she had merely walked in, completely unaware.

She forced her shoulders to relax and shook her head. "No, it's fine. I was just…surprised…that's all. Now I know about your…eccentricities…hopefully I won't get caught again," she told him with a brief smile.

He gave her a relieved grin. "Thank you for that. Many others wouldn't be so forgiving. But I still plan on making it up to you, somehow."

Astrid was about to politely refuse, when an idea struck. This would likely be their last night together and she didn't want to spend it holed up in her room alone while he wrote his novel. She wanted to have fun with him. And if her ulterior motive of getting him to trust her moved up a notch or two, then what was the harm?

None, she decided.

She shot him a devious grin and Hiccup nearly backed out of his offer.

"How are you at Monopoly?"

* * *

 **Thank you all for your patience and incredible support! I can only promise to do my best with future chapters, but life is life.**

 **So finally Selene has been introduced! I've been looking forward to this, as she plays an interesting role in later chapters! Look out for the blonde siren!**


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